Naoki, Morimoto, Dr.sc.nat.

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Publications

Papers in refereed journals

1. Tomizawa Y*, Pina M, Kikuchi Y, Morimoto N, Nakatsukasa M. 2025. Femoral neck cortical bone distribution in Nacholapithecus from the Middle Miocene of Kenya. Journal of Human Evolution 198, 103617.

2. Tomizawa, Y., Nakatsukasa, M., Ponce de León, M. S., Zollikofer, C. P. E., and Morimoto, N. Shaft structure of the first metatarsal contains a strong phylogenetic signal in apes and humans. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, e24987. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24987

3. Morimoto N*, Kawada M, Tomizawa Y, Kaneko A, Nishimura T. 2023. Pelvic shape change in adult Japanese macaques and implications for childbirth at old age. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States 120, e2300714120.

4. Morita W, Morimoto N, Otsu K and Miura T. 2022. Stripe and spot selection in cusp patterning of mammalian molar formation. Scientific Reports. 12 (1) 9149

5. Kawada M*, Nakatsukasa M, Nishimura T, Kaneko A, Ogihara N, Yamada S, Coudyzer W, Zollikofer CPE, Ponce de León MS, and Morimoto N* 2022. Human shoulder development is adapted to obstetrical constraints. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. 119 (16): e2114935119, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2114935119

6. Tajika A, Morimoto N, and Landman NH. 2021. Significance of the suture line in cephalopod taxonomy revealed by 3D morphometrics in the modern nautilids Nautilus and Allonautilus. Scientific Reports, 11(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-021-96611-1

7. Shibusawa N, Endo Y, Morimoto N, Takahashi I, and Miura T. 2021. Mathematical modeling of palatal suture pattern formation: morphological differences between sagittal and palatal sutures. Scientific Reports, 11(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88255-y

8. Urciuoli A, Zanolli C, Almécija S, Beaudet A, Dumoncel J, Morimoto N, Nakatsukasa M, Moyà-Solà S, Begun DR, and Alba DM. 2021. Reassessment of the phylogenetic relationships of the late Miocene apes Hispanopithecus and Rudapithecus based on vestibular morphology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States 118(5):e2015215118.

9. Morita W, Morimoto N, and Jernvall J. 2020. Mapping molar shapes on signaling pathways. PLOS Computational Biology 16(12):e1008436.

10. Kawada M*, Nakatsukasa M, Nishimura T, Kaneko A, and Morimoto N*. 2020. Covariation of fetal skull and maternal pelvis during the perinatal period in rhesus macaques and evolution of childbirth in primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States 117(35):21251-21257.

11. Morimoto N*, Kunimatsu Y, Nakatsukasa M, Ponce de León MS, Zollikofer CPE, Ishida H, Sasaki T, and Suwa G. 2020. Variation of bony labyrinthine morphology in Mio−Plio−Pleistocene and modern anthropoids. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 173(2):276-292.

12. Tajika A, Landman N, Morimoto N, Ikuno K, Linn T. 2020. Patterns of intraspecific variation through ontogeny–a case study of the cretaceous nautilid Eutrephoceras dekayi and modern Nautilus pompilius. Paleontology 63(5), 807-820.

13. Tajika A, Landman NH, Hoffmann R, Lemanis R, Morimoto N, Ifrim C, Klug C. 2020. Chamber volume development, metabolic rates, and selective extinction in cephalopods. Scientific Reports 10:2950.

14. Tsubamoto T, Kunimatsu Y, Sakai T, Saneyoshi M, Shimizu D, Morimoto N, Nakaya H, Handa N, Tanabe Y, Manthi FK, Nakatsukasa M. 2020. A new species of Nyanzachoerus (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Suidae, Tetraconodontinae) from the Upper Miocene Nakali Formation, Kenya. Paleontological Research 24:41-63, 23.

15. Morita W*, Morimoto N*, Kono RT, Suwa G. 2020. Metameric variation of upper molars in hominoids and its implications for the diversification of molar morphogenesis. Journal of Human Evolution 138:102706.*equal contribution 

16. Tsubamoto T, Kunimatsu Y, Sakai T, Saneyoshi M, Shimizu D, Morimoto N, Nakaya H, Handa N, Tanabe Y, Manthi K, Nakatsukasa M. 2020. A new species of Nyanzachoerus (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Suidae, Tetraconodontinae) from the upper Miocene Nakali Formation, Kenya . Paleontological Research 24(1), 41-63, 23.

17. Nakatsukasa M, Morimoto N, Nishimura T. 2019.  Sesamoids of the pollical metacarpophalangeal joint and the evolution of the hominoid hands. Anthropological Science 127(3), 159-164.

18. Nishimura T, Morimoto N, and Ito T. 2019. Shape variation in the facial part of the cranium in macaques and African papionins using geometric morphometrics. Primates 60(5):401-419.

19. Morimoto N*, Nakatsukasa M, Ponce de León MS, Zollikofer CPE. 2018. Femoral ontogeny in humans and great apes and its implications for their last common ancestor. Scientific Reports 8:1930.

20. Tajika A, Morimoto N, Wani R, Klug C. 2018. Intraspecific variation in cephalopod conchs changes during ontogeny: perspectives from three-dimensional morphometry of Nautilus pompilius. Paleobiology:1-13.

21. Katsube M, Yamada S, Miyazaki R, Yamaguchi Y, Makishima H, Takakuwa T, Yamamoto A, Fujii Y, Morimoto N, Ito T, Imai H, Suzuki S. 2017. Quantitation of nasal development in the early prenatal period using geometric morphometrics and MRI: a new insight into the critical period of Binder phenotype. Prenatal Diagnosis 37:907-915.

22. Kunimatsu Y, Tsujikawa H, Nakatsukasa M, Shimizu D, Ogihara N, Kikuchi Y, Nakano Y, Takano T, Morimoto N, Ishida H. 2017. A new species of Mioeuoticus (Lorisiformes, Primates) from the early Middle Miocene of Kenya. Anthropol Sci 125:59-65.

23. Tsubamoto T, Kunimatsu Y, Sakai T, Saneyoshi M, Shimizu D, Morimoto N, Nakaya H, Nakatsukasa M. 2017. Listriodontine Suid and Tragulid Artiodactyls (Mammalia) from the Upper Miocene Nakali Formation, Kenya. Paleontological Research  21:347-357.

24. Morita W*, Morimoto N*, Kunimatsu Y, Mazurier A, Zanolli C, Nakatsukasa M. 2017. A morphometric mapping analysis of lower fourth deciduous premolar in hominoids: Implications for phylogenetic relationship between Nakalipithecus and Ouranopithecus. Comptes Rendus Palevol 16:655-669. *equal contribution

25. Morita W*, Morimoto N*, Ohshima H. 2016. Exploring metameric variation in human molars: a morphological study using morphometric mapping. Journal of Anatomy 229:343-355. *equal contribution

26. Tajika A, Morimoto N, Wani R, Naglik C, Klug C. 2015. Intraspecific variation of phragmocone chamber volumes throughout ontogeny in the modern nautilid Nautilus and the Jurassic ammonite Normannites. PeerJ 3:e1306.

27. Morimoto N*, Suwa G, Nishimura T, Ponce de León MS, Zollikofer CPE, Lovejoy CO, Nakatsukasa M. 2015. Let bone and muscle talk together: a study of real and virtual dissection and its implications for femoral musculoskeletal structure of chimpanzees. The Anatomical Record 226:258-267.

28. Morimoto N*, Ponce de León MS, Zollikofer CPE. 2014. Phenotypic variation in infants, not adults, reflects genotypic variation among chimpanzees and bonobos. PLOS ONE 9:e102074.

29. Koyabu D, Werneburg I, Morimoto N, Zollikofer CPE, Forasiepi AM, Endo H, Kimura J, Ohdachi SD, Truong Son N, Sánchez-Villagra MR. 2014. Mammalian skull heterochrony reveals modular evolution and a link between cranial development and brain size. Nature Communications 5.

30. Tajika A, Naglik C, Morimoto N, Pascual-Cebrian E, Hennhöfer D, Klug C. 2014. Empirical 3D model of the conch of the Middle Jurassic ammonite microconch Normannites: its buoyancy, the physical effects of its mature modifications and speculations on their function. Historical Biology:1-11.

31. Morimoto N*, Zollikofer CPE, Ponce de León MS. 2012. Shared human-chimpanzee pattern of perinatal femoral shaft morphology and its implications for the evolution of hominin locomotor adaptations. PLOS ONE 7:e41980.

32. Falk D, Zollikofer CP, Morimoto N, Ponce de León MS. 2012. Metopic suture of Taung (Australopithecus africanus) and its implications for hominin brain evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States 109:8467-8470.

33. Morimoto N*, Zollikofer CPE, Ponce de León MS. 2011. Femoral morphology and femoropelvic musculoskeletal anatomy of humans and great apes: a comparative virtopsy study. The Anatomical Record 294:1433-1445.

34. Morimoto N*, Zollikofer CPE, Ponce de León MS. 2011. Exploring femoral diaphyseal shape variation in wild and captive chimpanzees by means of morphometric mapping: a test of Wolff’s Law. The Anatomical Record 294:589-609.

35. Morimoto N*, Ogihara N, Katayama K, Shiota K. 2008. Three-dimensional ontogenetic shape changes in the human cranium during the fetal period. Journal of Anatomy 212:627-635.

Reviews

• Morimoto N. What could hominoid fetuses tell us about human evolution? The Anatomical Record 301: 970-972.

Papers in refereed conference proceedings volumes

• Morimoto N, Zollikofer CPE, Ponce de León MS. 2011. Visualization and quantitative analysis of human femoral diaphysis. In: Lestrel P, editor. BIOLOGICAL SHAPE ANALYSIS: Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing of Singapore. p 266-273.

Conference presentations

• Morimoto N, Ponce de León M, Zollikofer CPE. 2014. Neutral and adaptive evolution of femoral morphology: a comparative study of developmental variation within and between Pan taxa.  The 83rd Annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Calgary, Canada.

• Morimoto N, Ponce de León M, Zollikofer CPE. 2013. Femoral morphology and evolution of hominoid locomotion: insight from fetuses of humans and great apes.  The 82nd Annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Knoxville, Tennessee, US.

• Morimoto N, Ponce de León M, Zollikofer CPE. 2012. Structure-function-phylogeny relationship of hominoids: a morphometric mapping study of perinatal femoral morphology in humans and great apes.  The 66th Annual meeting of the anthropological society of Japan Kanagawa, Japan.

• Morimoto N, Ponce de León M, Zollikofer CPE. 2012. Ontogenetic patterns of long bone shape of humans and great apes.  The 81st Annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Portland, Oregon, US.

• Morimoto N, Ponce de León M, Zollikofer CPE. 2010. Ontogenetic patterns of long bone shape of humans and great apes.  The 79th Annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Albuquerque, New Mexico, US.

• Morimoto N. 2009. Ontogenetic patterns of sexual dimorphism in long bone shape of gorillas.  The 63nd Annual meeting of the anthropological society of Japan. Tokyo, Japan.

• Morimoto N, Ponce de León M, Zollikofer CPE. 2009. Visualization and quantitative analysis of morphological variation of long bone shape in human and great apes.  The 1st International Symposium of Biological Shape Analysis. Tsukuba, Japan.

• Morimoto N, Ponce de León M, Zollikofer CPE. 2008. Visualization and quantitative analysis of morphological variation of long bone shape in human and great ape fetuses. The 62nd Annual meeting of the anthropological society of Japan. Nagoya, Japan.

Conference presentations (coauthored)

• Morita W, Morimoto N, Jernvall J. 2018. A morphometric mapping analysis of mice molar morphology.  JOINT MEETING 6th International Conference of Rodent Biology and Management &16th Rodens et Spatium. Potsdam, Germany.

• Tajika A, Morimoto N, Wani R, Klug C. 2017. Patterns of intraspecific variation in cephalopods - new data from 3D morphometry of Nautilus shells.  GSA meeting. Seattle, Washington, US.

• Morita W, Morimoto N, Ohshima H. 2016. Testing odontogenetic models in human molars: quantifying metameric variaton by morphometric mapping.  Tooth Morphogenesis and Differentiation 2016. Porvoo, Finland.

• Morita W, Morimoto N, Ida-Yonemochi H, Ohshima H. 2015. Quantitative analysis in mouse lower molars by means of morphometric mapping.  Tripartite Conference on Tooth and Bone: Development & Regeneration. Narita, Japan.

• Morita W, Morimoto N, Ida-Yonemochi H, Takeuchi K, Igarashi M, Ohshima H. 2015. Linking genotype to phenotype in mice molars by means of morphometric mapping.  The 120th Annual Meeting of The Japanese Association of Anatomists. Kobe, Japan.

• Nakatsukasa M, Mbua E, Morimoto N, Shimizu D, Yutaka K. 2014. Unique body proportions of Microcolobus.  The 83rd Annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Calgary, Canada.

• Hatt J-M, Zollikofer CPE, Thali M, Kircher PR, Morimoto N, Ponce de León M. 2013. The virtual ape project – more than a source of anatomy for veterinarians, anthropologists and primatologists.  The 45th Annual meeting of  the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. Salt Lake City, Utah, US.

Covers and media clips