From ScienceDaily:
The Golden Ratio, described by Leonardo da Vinci and Luca Pacioli as the Divine Proportion, is an infinite number often found in nature, art and mathematics. It’s a pattern in pinecones, seashells, galaxies and hurricanes.
In a new study investigating whether skull shape follows the Golden Ratio (1.618 … ), Johns Hopkins researchers compared 100 human skulls to 70 skulls from six other animals, and found that the human skull dimensions followed the Golden Ratio. The skulls of less related species such as dogs, two kinds of monkeys, rabbits, lions and tigers, however, diverged from this ratio.
“The other mammals we surveyed actually have unique ratios that approach the Golden Ratio with increased species sophistication,” says Rafael Tamargo, M.D., professor of neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “We believe that this finding may have important anthropological and evolutionary implications.” Paper. (open access) – Rafael J. Tamargo, Jonathan A. Pindrik. Mammalian Skull Dimensions and the Golden Ratio (Φ). Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, 2019; 30 (6): 1750 DOI: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000005610 More.
Skull shape might help explain why we discovered the golden ratio in the first place. Faces are something we pay attention to.
See also: Why early humans preferred the golden ratio
Golden ratio in guitar solos
and
Does The Golden Ratio, 1.618, Unify Science?