Abstract
Allometric scaling models, used to describe morphological and functional relationships between two sets of observations, are examined both in concept and in application. This paper focuses on the underlying assumptions and statistics of the methods most frequently used: linear regression, principal axis and standard major axis analysis. It is shown that the standard major axis (SMA) is the most appropriate bivariate linear model in palaeonotological research. Differences among the models discussed are illustrated by a morphometric analysis of dental dimensions in australopithecines.
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Hofman, M.A. Allometric scaling in palaeontology: A critical survey. Hum. Evol. 3, 177–188 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02437441
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02437441