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Boyer diss 2009 1046..

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Hallucal metatarsal function.—The large size of the medial side proximal<br />

tubercle, relative to the lateral side peroneal tubercle, may indicate the presence of a large<br />

tibialis anterior tendon, a dorsiflexor and invertor of the foot. The strong groove on the<br />

medial side of the shaft may have received fibers of an opponens hallucis muscle (Straus,<br />

1930; George, 1977). The saddle-shaped facet for the entocuneiform, the lateral torsion<br />

of the distal end relative to the proximal end, and the evidence for the presence of a<br />

muscle that could pull the hallux more fully into opposition are consistent with previous<br />

interpretations that the hallux was specialized for grasping in a way essentially similar to<br />

that of euprimates and the treeshrew Ptilocercus (Szalay and Dagosto, 1988; Sargis et al.,<br />

2007).<br />

Metatarsal II description.—There are two bones that appear to represent MT II<br />

(Figs. 4.38B-C, 4.39; Table 4.23): a right element that preserves everything but the<br />

proximal end and a left element that is only the proximal end. It is not certain that these<br />

both represent the same taxon, however no information contradicts this possibility and<br />

they are treated as belonging to P. cookei. Some of the justification for identifying this<br />

bone as MT II, specifically, must be done in a comparative context that considers all<br />

preserved metatarsals together. The results of these analyses are presented below.<br />

As for MC II, the lateral margin of the proximal articular surface (for the<br />

mesocuneiform) projects slightly farther proximally than the medial aspect. This<br />

proximal facet is slightly convex, but basically flat, and articulates well with the<br />

mesocuneiform. The medial side of the proximal end has two facets: a dorsally located<br />

one and a ventral one. The dorsal facet faces dorsomedially, and the ventral one faces<br />

ventromedially. Taken as a whole, these two facets form a convex surface for<br />

354

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