Belly fat or bloating? New insights into the physical appearance of St Anthony of Padua

Over the centuries, iconographic representations of St Anthony of Padua, one of the most revered saints in the Catholic world, have been inspired by literary sources, which described the Saint as either naturally corpulent or with a swollen abdomen due to dropsy (i.e. fluid accumulation in the body cavities). Even recent attempts to reconstruct the face of the Saint have yielded discordant results regarding his outward appearance. To address questions about the real appearance of St Anthony, we applied body mass estimation equations to the osteometric measurements taken in 1981, during the public recognition of the Saint’s skeletal remains. Both the biomechanical and the morphometric approach were employed to solve some intrinsic limitations in the equations for body mass estimation from skeletal remains. The estimated body mass was used to assess the physique of the Saint with the body mass index. The outcomes of this investigation reveal interesting information about the body type of the Saint throughout his lifetime.

Download Full-text

Testing Equid Body Mass Estimate Equations on Modern Zebras—With Implications to Understanding the Relationship of Body Size, Diet, and Habitats of Equus in the Pleistocene of Europe

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.622412 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Juha Saarinen ◽

Omar Cirilli ◽

Flavia Strani ◽

Keiko Meshida ◽

Raymond L. Bernor

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

North America ◽

Body Mass ◽

Size Variation ◽

Mass Range ◽

The Body ◽

Mass Estimation ◽

Body Size Variation ◽

Estimation Equations ◽

Body Mass Estimation

The monodactyl horses of the genus Equus originated in North America during the Pliocene, and from the beginning of the Pleistocene, they have been an essential part of the large ungulate communities of Europe, North America and Africa. Understanding how body size of Equus species evolved and varied in relation to changes in environments and diet thus forms an important part of understanding the dynamics of ungulate body size variation in relation to Pleistocene paleoenvironmental changes. Here we test previously published body mass estimation equations for the family Equidae by investigating how accurately different skeletal and dental measurements estimate the mean body mass (and body mass range) reported for extant Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi) and Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga). Based on these tests and information on how frequently skeletal elements occur in the fossil record, we construct a hierarchy of best practices for the selection of body mass estimation equations in Equus. As a case study, we explore body size variation in Pleistocene European Equus paleopopulations in relation to diet and vegetation structure in their paleoenvironments. We show a relationship between diet and body size in Equus: very large-sized species tend to have more browse-dominated diets than small and medium-sized species, and paleovegetation proxies indicate on average more open and grass-rich paleoenvironments for small-sized, grazing species of Equus. When more than one species of Equus co-occur sympatrically, the larger species tend to be less abundant and have more browse-dominated diets than the smaller species. We suggest that body size variation in Pleistocene Equus was driven by a combined effect of resource quality and availability, partitioning of habitats and resources between species, and the effect of environmental openness and group size on the body size of individuals.

Download Full-text

The Body Sizes and Proportions of the Sunghir People

The People of Sunghir ◽

10.1093/oso/9780199381050.003.0014 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Erik Trinkaus ◽

Alexandra P. Buzhilova ◽

Maria B. Mednikova ◽

Maria V. Dobrovolskaya

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Late Pleistocene ◽

Brain Size ◽

Weight Bearing ◽

The Body ◽

Body Proportions ◽

Mass Estimation ◽

Body Sizes ◽

Methodological Considerations ◽

Body Mass Estimation

Considerations of the body proportions and estimates of body mass and stature of the Sunghir people provide a general baseline for the assessment of a variety of aspects of their paleobiology. They also furnish some indications by themselves. Some of these aspects have been mentioned with respect to sexual assessment of the adult remains (especially Sunghir 1 and 4; chapter 6), and methodological considerations have been addressed in part in chapter 5. What is presented here is a more detailed assessment of size in terms of body mass estimation and stature, and considerations of body proportions to the extent that they can be evaluated for Sunghir 1, 2 and 3. Body mass estimation was discussed in chapter 5, and it is done here exclusively using the dimension of the weight-bearing femoral articulations and/or metaphyses. It provides insights into trends in overall body size and health, but it is also central to the appropriate scaling of other aspects of morphology, from limb length and strength to brain size. Since the early comments of Boule (1911–1913) and Coon (1962), there has been a series of attempts to evaluate the body proportions (principally using limb segment lengths but also body breadth and trunk length) of Pleistocene humans as indications of both ecogeographical patterning among Late Pleistocene humans and possible reflections of their population dynamics (e.g., Trinkaus 1981, 2007; Walker and Leakey 1993; Ruff 1994; Holliday 1997a, 1997b, 2000, 2006a; Trinkaus and Zilhão 2002; Frelat 2007). The critical problem in assessing body proportions is to determine the independent variable. This must be done a priori, based on biological considerations. Stature estimation presents a variety of difficulties among Late Pleistocene humans, given variation in linear body proportions, but it can provide an indication of overall health, especially given the trends evident through the European Upper Paleolithic (Formicola and Giannecchini 1999; Holt and Formicola 2008). Assessments of body proportions depend in part on body mass estimation, and stature predictions depend on body proportions.

Download Full-text

BODY-MASS ESTIMATION IN PALEONTOLOGY: A REVIEW OF VOLUMETRIC TECHNIQUES

The Paleontological Society Papers ◽

10.1017/scs.2017.12 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 ◽

pp. 133-156 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Charlotte A. Brassey

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Laser Scanning ◽

Imaging Techniques ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

The Body ◽

Estimation Methods ◽

Mass Estimation ◽

Surface Laser ◽

Body Mass Estimation ◽

Future Work

AbstractBody mass is a key parameter for understanding the physiology, biomechanics, and ecology of an organism. Within paleontology, body mass is a fundamental prerequisite for many studies considering body-size evolution, survivorship patterns, and the occurrence of dwarfism and gigantism. The conventional method for estimating fossil body mass relies on allometric scaling relationships derived from skeletal metrics of extant taxa, but the recent application of three-dimensional imaging techniques to paleontology (e.g., surface laser scanning, computed tomography, and photogrammetry) has allowed for the rapid digitization of fossil specimens. Volumetric body-mass estimation methods based on whole articulated skeletons are therefore becoming increasingly popular. Volume-based approaches offer several advantages, including the ability to reconstruct body-mass distribution around the body, and their relative insensitivity to particularly robust or gracile elements, i.e., the so-called ‘one bone effect.’ Yet their application to the fossil record will always be limited by the paucity of well-preserved specimens. Furthermore, uncertainties with regards to skeletal articulation, body density, and soft-tissue distribution must be acknowledged and their effects quantified. Future work should focus on extant taxa to improve our understanding of body composition and increase confidence in volumetric model input parameters.

Download Full-text

Stature and body mass estimation from skeletal remains in the European Holocene

American Journal of Physical Anthropology ◽

10.1002/ajpa.22087 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 148 (4) ◽

pp. 601-617 ◽

Cited By ~ 138

Author(s):

Christopher B. Ruff ◽

Brigitte M. Holt ◽

Markku Niskanen ◽

Vladimir Sladék ◽

Margit Berner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Skeletal Remains ◽

Mass Estimation ◽

Body Mass Estimation

Download Full-text

The body mass estimation from human talus: inductive approach and 3D morphometric study (919.1)

The FASEB Journal ◽

10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.919.1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 28 (S1) ◽

Author(s):

Go‐Un Jung ◽

U‐Young Lee ◽

Dong‐Ho Kim ◽

Dai‐Soon Kwak ◽

Yong‐Woo Ahn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

The Body ◽

Morphometric Study ◽

Mass Estimation ◽

Inductive Approach ◽

Body Mass Estimation

Download Full-text

Estimating body mass of Florida white-tailed deer from standard age and morphometric measurements

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr18142 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 334

Author(s):

Tad M. Bartareau

Keyword(s):

Odocoileus Virginianus ◽

Body Mass ◽

Body Length ◽

The Body ◽

Predictor Variables ◽

Estimation Model ◽

Morphometric Measurements ◽

Mass Estimation ◽

Chest Girth ◽

Body Mass Estimation

Context Measuring a mammal’s body mass has importance in understanding nutritional condition, reproductive biology and ecology. It can be impractical for a researcher to measure the body mass when equipment needed to weigh individuals is inadequate or unavailable. Aims The purpose of this study was to develop a model to accurately estimate the body mass of hunter-harvested Florida white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus osceola, Odocoileus virginianus seminolus) based on the relationship between scale mass, sex and standard age and morphometric measurement predictor variables easily obtainable in the field. Methods An information-theoretic approach was used to evaluate simple and multiple linear regression models with 67% of the data, and the best model in the set was validated using the remaining 33%. Key results Chest girth was the best single predictor of body mass. A global model including sex, age, age2 and body length variables was better supported than chest girth alone, and subspecies information did not contribute significantly to the body-mass–predictor-variable relationship. The best model explained 98.5% of the variation in body mass as follows: body mass (kg) = –18.41 + 6.53 × sex (0 = female, 1 = male) + 5.04 × age (year) – 0.49 × age2 (year2) + 4.76 × 10−3 × chest girth2 (cm2) + 0.12 × body length (cm). The 95% confidence interval on the bias of the estimated body mass of the best model was –0.50 to 0.59 kg. The difference between estimated and scale body mass was –0.04 kg ± 0.28 (s.e.). Conclusions Individuals maintained a similar proportion of body mass to predictor variables, and differences between the observed and estimated body mass of model applied to the validation dataset were not significant. Implications The validated body-mass-estimation model presented will enable accurate estimates of the body mass of white-tailed deer in cases where standard age and morphometric measurements are available, but the individuals were not weighed. These results provide a basis to formulate and parameterise body-mass-estimation models for other white-tailed deer subspecies and populations. Without the need for specialised equipment, the body-mass-estimation model can be used by personnel involved in white-tailed deer research, management and sport hunting to assess trends in individual and population health in support of this species’ conservation. Photograph by Carlton Ward Jr.

Download Full-text

Estimating body mass from silhouettes: testing the assumption of elliptical body cross-sections

Paleobiology ◽

10.1666/0094-8373(2001)027<0735:ebmfst>2.0.co;2 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 735-750 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Ryosuke Motani

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Cross Sections ◽

High Accuracy ◽

The Body ◽

Computational Studies ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mass Estimation ◽

Marine Reptiles ◽

Geometrical Shapes ◽

Body Mass Estimation

In computational studies of the body mass and surface area of vertebrates, it is customary to assume that body cross-sections are approximately elliptical. However, a review of actual vertebrate cross-sections establishes that this assumption is not usually met. A new cross-sectional model using superellipses is therefore introduced, together with a scheme that allows estimates to be given with ranges. Tests of the new method, using geometrical shapes, miniature vertebrate models, and actual animals, show that the method has a high accuracy in body mass estimation. A new computer program to perform the computation is introduced. The application of the method to some Mesozoic marine reptiles suggests that the tuna-shaped ichthyosaur Stenopterygius probably had body masses comparable to those of average cetaceans of the same body length.

Download Full-text