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Reda HG, Frost SR, Simons EA, Quade J, Simpson SW. Description and taxonomic assessment of fossil Cercopithecidae from the Pliocene Galili Formation (Ethiopia). J Hum Evol 2024; 190:103508. [PMID: 38599140 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
The Mount Galili Formation in the Afar region, Ethiopia, samples a critical time in hominin evolution, 4.4 to 3.8 Ma, documenting the last appearance of Ardipithecus and the origin of Australopithecus. This period is also important in the evolution of cercopithecids, especially the origin of Theropithecus in general and Theropithecus oswaldi lineage in particular. Galili has provided a total of 655 cercopithecid specimens that include crania, mandibles, isolated teeth and postcrania. All the fossils were recovered from the Lasdanan (5.3-4.43 Ma), Dhidinley (4.43-3.9 Ma) and Shabeley Laag (∼3.92-3.8 Ma) Members. Here, we described and analyzed 362 fossils employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. Descriptions of the material were supplemented with dental metrics and cranial shape analysis using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics. Results indicate the presence of at least six cercopithecid taxa: Theropithecus oswaldi serengetensis (n = 28), Theropithecus sp. (n = 2), three non-Theropithecus papionin groups (n = 134) and one colobine-size group (n = 58). The T. o. serengetensis represents the earliest form of the lineage, documented from ∼3.9 Ma Galili sediments. The three Galili papionins include a smaller taxon, a medium-sized taxon comparable to Pliopapio alemui and a large papionin overlapping in size with Soromandrillus, Gorgopithecus and Dinopithecus. The majority of Galili colobines have closest affinities to Kuseracolobus aramisi and some overlap with other taxa. Papionins dominate the Galili cercopithecid collection, although colobines are still fairly common (approximately 25% of the sample). Thus, Galili sample is like Kanapoi (4.2-4.1 Ma) and Gona (5.2-3.9 Ma) localities but distinct from Aramis, suggesting paleoecological similarity to the former sites. On the other hand, Theropithecus is less abundant at Galili than geologically younger Hadar (3.4-3.2 Ma) and Woranso-Mille (3.8-3.6 Ma) sites. Whether this difference is due to sampling, time or landscape variation requires further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailay G Reda
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403-1218, USA.
| | - Stephen R Frost
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403-1218, USA
| | - Evan A Simons
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, L470, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Jay Quade
- Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1040 E. 4th Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Scott W Simpson
- Department of Anatomy, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106-4930, USA; Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
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Haileselasie TH, Mulualem G, Welegerima K. The first large-scale record of gelada's spatial distribution and population size in Mountain chains of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Heliyon 2023; 9:e19346. [PMID: 37674850 PMCID: PMC10477480 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Gelada (Theropithecus gelada) is an Ethiopian endemic mammal whose range was previously believed to be limited to the Bale and Simien Mountain national parks. However, knowledge of the range of the species is still not satisfactory. This study was designed to investigate the distribution and population size of the gelada in selected highlands in Tigray. To achieve this, study areas were divided into census tracts identified for a direct field assessment using habitat-based counting approaches. Moreover, informal interviews were conducted parallel to the direct field assessment in different villages. Our large spatial scale survey, the first of its kind for the region, confirmed the presence of T. gelada in three mountain clusters in Tigray for the first time. A total of 223 individual geladas were recorded in Ganta Afeshum, Hawzen and Welkait escarpments. The highest number of individuals (35.7 ± 3.8) was recorded in Hawzen (with 6.99 individuals/km2), followed by Ganta Afeshum (with 4.3 individuals/km2). Agricultural expansion, settlement and a lack of community awareness are the key threats operating against the conservation of the gelada in its current range in Tigray. Further research on the overall ecology, feeding, and spatial distribution of the species should be projected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsegazeabe Hadush Haileselasie
- Mekelle University, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Department of Biology, Mekelle, Ethiopia
- Tigray Biological and Biodiversity Association (TBA), Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
| | - Getachew Mulualem
- Tigray Biological and Biodiversity Association (TBA), Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
- Mekelle Biodiversity Center, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, 603 65, Brno, Czech Republic
- Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany and Zoology, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kiros Welegerima
- Mekelle University, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Department of Biology, Mekelle, Ethiopia
- Tigray Biological and Biodiversity Association (TBA), Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
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3
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Getahun DA, Delson E, Seyoum CM. A review of Theropithecus oswaldi with the proposal of a new subspecies. J Hum Evol 2023; 180:103373. [PMID: 37269782 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Revised: 04/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Theropithecus oswaldi darti, as currently understood, is the oldest Theropithecus taxon in the fossil record and the earliest subspecies in the Theropithecusoswaldi lineage. Theropithecus oswaldi darti is typified at the site of Makapansgat in South Africa, and a similar form (T. o. cf. darti) is usually recognized at Hadar, Dikika, some Middle Awash localities, and Woranso-Mille in Ethiopia. This taxon is also tentatively believed to occur in Kenya at Kanam and Koobi Fora and in Member C of the Shungura Formation in Ethiopia. While there is a general consensus that the East African 'darti' specimens are sufficiently similar to each other, there has always been a question of whether they are too distinct from the South African type material of T. o. darti to belong to the same subspecies. Here we conduct a morphological comparison of the different samples previously assigned to T. o. darti and T. o. cf. darti. The results of our analyses overwhelmingly support the hypothesis that the East African samples are distinct from the South African ones, and they are likely distinct in geological age as well. Therefore, we propose a new subspecies designation for the material previously termed T. o. cf. darti from East Africa: Theropithecus (Theropithecus) oswaldi ecki subsp. nov. We also formally recognize Theropithecus (Theropithecus) oswaldi serengetensis (Dietrich, 1942) for specimens from Laetoli, Woranso-Mille, and perhaps Galili.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dagmawit Abebe Getahun
- PhD Program in Anthropology, City University of New York Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Anthropology, Lehman College, City University of New York, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology and NYCEP Morphometrics Group, New York, NY 10016, USA.
| | - Eric Delson
- PhD Program in Anthropology, City University of New York Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Anthropology, Lehman College, City University of New York, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology and NYCEP Morphometrics Group, New York, NY 10016, USA; Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA; PhD Program in Earth and Environmental Sciences, City University of New York Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Campus de la UAB, c/ Columnes, s/n, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Chalachew Mesfin Seyoum
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, The University of Arizona, College of Medicine, 475 N 5th St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA; Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
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Frost SR, Jablonski NG, Haile-Selassie Y. The earliest most complete skeleton of Theropithecus. J Hum Evol 2023; 180:103370. [PMID: 37167814 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The middle Pliocene site of Woranso-Mille in the Afar Region of Ethiopia has yielded numerous significant early hominin fossils representing multiple, coexisting taxa. Here we report on another significant discovery, the oldest partial skeleton of the papionin, Theropithecus. The specimen was recovered from the Aralee Issie collection area over multiple field seasons from 2004 through 2019. The specimen was unearthed in situ from the fluvial facies of the Mesgid Dora Tuff dated to 3.66-3.57 Ma. The partial skeleton, ARI-VP-1/26, is that of a subadult male lacking a skull. In the absence of unambiguously associated craniodental remains, the male status of the specimen was established from the dimensions of the long bones in comparison to those of other Theropithecus from Woranso-Mille. ARI-VP-1/26 is noteworthy because it preserves partial hand and foot skeletons, including a complete set of metacarpals from the left side. The theropith status of ARI-VP-1/26 was established based on the detailed anatomy of the postcranial skeleton, especially the proximal and distal humerus, proximal radius, and proximal femur. The morphology of the postcranium of ARI-VP-1/26 is consistent with that of recognized Theropithecus from Woranso-Mille and, specifically, with specimens recognized as Theropithecus oswaldi cf. darti from other sites. The ratio of the lengths of the first metacarpal to metacarpals 2-5 in ARI-VP-1/26 is intermediate between that seen in extant Papio and Theropithecus. In Theropithecus gelada and Theropithecus brumpti, the pairing of pollical and indical metacarpals of near equal length contributes to the species' high opposability index and is associated with a 'manual grazing' feeding habit. Cercopithecids constitute 43% of the identified vertebrates at Aralee Issie, and T. oswaldi cf. darti is the most common mammalian species. The monkeys of Aralee Issie lived in an open shrubland habitat, but the specific reasons for their high prevalence at the site are unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen R Frost
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1218, USA.
| | - Nina G Jablonski
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, 409 Carpenter Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Yohannes Haile-Selassie
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
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Pallas L, Daver G, Merceron G, Boisserie JR. The anatomy of the hindlimb of Theropithecus brumpti (Cercopithecidae, Papionini): Morphofunctional implications. J Hum Evol 2023; 178:103333. [PMID: 36965446 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2023] [Indexed: 03/27/2023]
Abstract
Theropithecus brumpti is a primate known from numerous craniodental specimens in the Plio-Pleistocene Shungura Formation (Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia), but the anatomy of its hindlimb is documented only by a few associated and mostly incomplete postcranial specimens. The adaptations of T. brumpti are still debated, with its substrate preferences and its use of squatting postures recently discussed based on anatomical differences when compared with its extant representative, Theropithecus gelada. Here, we describe an associated femur and tibia (L 869-1 and L 869-2) of a presumed T. brumpti male and a partial foot (L 865-1r and L 865-1t) of a male T. brumpti, dated to ca. 2.6 Ma and ca. 2.32 Ma respectively. Based on univariate and bivariate morphometric analyses, we provide new data on the morphological correlates of substrate preferences and postural behaviors of this fossil species. Our results are in agreement with previous analyses and present T. brumpti as a predominantly terrestrial primate. We demonstrate the presence of osteological correlates associated with the use of squatting behaviors in T. brumpti but also point to significant anatomical differences between this paleontological species and T. gelada. These differences blur the functional value of characters previously identified as diagnostic of T. gelada and its postural behavior. We further document the postcranial distinctiveness of the Theropithecus clade in relation to the Papio clade. This study thus provides new insights into the postcranial anatomy and paleoecology of an abundant fossil primate from the Plio-Pleistocene of eastern Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Pallas
- Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie (PALEVOPRIM), UMR CNRS 7262, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers Cedex 86022, France.
| | - Guillaume Daver
- Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie (PALEVOPRIM), UMR CNRS 7262, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers Cedex 86022, France
| | - Gildas Merceron
- Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie (PALEVOPRIM), UMR CNRS 7262, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers Cedex 86022, France
| | - Jean-Renaud Boisserie
- Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie (PALEVOPRIM), UMR CNRS 7262, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers Cedex 86022, France; Centre Français des Études Éthiopiennes, CNRS & Ministère de l'Europe et des affaires étrangères, PO BOX 5554, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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6
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Biochronology of South African hominin-bearing sites: A reassessment using cercopithecid primates. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2210627119. [PMID: 36279427 PMCID: PMC9659350 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210627119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite recent advances in chronometric techniques (e.g., Uranium-Lead [U-Pb], cosmogenic nuclides, electron spin resonance spectroscopy [ESR]), considerable uncertainty remains regarding the age of many Plio-Pleistocene hominin sites, including several in South Africa. Consequently, biochronology remains important in assessments of Plio-Pleistocene geochronology and provides direct age estimates of the fossils themselves. Historically, cercopithecid monkeys have been among the most useful taxa for biochronology of early hominins because they are widely present and abundant in the African Plio-Pleistocene record. The last major studies using cercopithecids were published over 30 y ago. Since then, new hominin sites have been discovered, radiometric age estimates have been refined, and many changes have occurred in cercopithecid taxonomy and systematics. Thus, a biochronological reassessment using cercopithecids is long overdue. Here, we provide just such a revision based on our recent study of every major cercopithecid collection from African Plio-Pleistocene sites. In addition to correlations based on shared faunal elements, we present an analysis based on the dentition of the abundant cercopithecid
Theropithecus oswaldi
, which increases in size in a manner that is strongly correlated with geological age (
r
2
∼0.83), thereby providing a highly accurate age-estimation tool not previously utilized. In combination with paleomagnetic and U-Pb data, our results provide revised age estimates and suggest that there are no hominin sites in South Africa significantly older than ∼2.8 Ma. Where conflicting age estimates exist, we suggest that additional data are needed and recall that faunal estimates have ultimately proved reliable in the past (e.g., the age of the KBS Tuff).
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Monson TA, Brasil MF, Mahaney MC, Schmitt CA, Taylor CE, Hlusko LJ. Keeping 21st Century Paleontology Grounded: Quantitative Genetic Analyses and Ancestral State Reconstruction Re-Emphasize the Essentiality of Fossils. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11081218. [PMID: 36009845 PMCID: PMC9404954 DOI: 10.3390/biology11081218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Simple Summary Over the last two decades of biological research, our understanding of how genes determine dental development and variation has expanded greatly. Here, we explore how this new knowledge can be applied to the fossil record of cercopithecid monkeys. We compare a traditional paleontological method for assessing dental size variation with measurement approaches derived from quantitative genetics and developmental biology. We find that these new methods for assessing dental variation provide novel insight to the evolution of the cercopithecid monkey dentition, different from the insight provided by traditional size measurements. When we explore the variation of these traits in the cercopithecid fossil record, we find that the variation is outside the range predicted based on extant variation alone. Our 21st century biological approach to paleontology reveals that we have even more to learn from fossils than previously recognized. Abstract Advances in genetics and developmental biology are revealing the relationship between genotype and dental phenotype (G:P), providing new approaches for how paleontologists assess dental variation in the fossil record. Our aim was to understand how the method of trait definition influences the ability to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history in the Cercopithecidae, the Linnaean Family of monkeys currently living in Africa and Asia. We compared the two-dimensional assessment of molar size (calculated as the mesiodistal length of the crown multiplied by the buccolingual breadth) to a trait that reflects developmental influences on molar development (the inhibitory cascade, IC) and two traits that reflect the genetic architecture of postcanine tooth size variation (defined through quantitative genetic analyses: MMC and PMM). All traits were significantly influenced by the additive effects of genes and had similarly high heritability estimates. The proportion of covariate effects was greater for two-dimensional size compared to the G:P-defined traits. IC and MMC both showed evidence of selection, suggesting that they result from the same genetic architecture. When compared to the fossil record, Ancestral State Reconstruction using extant taxa consistently underestimated MMC and PMM values, highlighting the necessity of fossil data for understanding evolutionary patterns in these traits. Given that G:P-defined dental traits may provide insight to biological mechanisms that reach far beyond the dentition, this new approach to fossil morphology has the potential to open an entirely new window onto extinct paleobiologies. Without the fossil record, we would not be able to grasp the full range of variation in those biological mechanisms that have existed throughout evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tesla A. Monson
- Department of Anthropology, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| | - Marianne F. Brasil
- Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA
- Human Evolution Research Center, Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, MC-3140, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Michael C. Mahaney
- Department of Human Genetics, South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA
| | - Christopher A. Schmitt
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, 232 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Catherine E. Taylor
- Human Evolution Research Center, Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, MC-3140, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Leslea J. Hlusko
- Human Evolution Research Center, Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, MC-3140, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- National Center for Research on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
- Correspondence:
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Rowan J, Lazagabaster IA, Campisano CJ, Bibi F, Bobe R, Boisserie JR, Frost SR, Getachew T, Gilbert CC, Lewis ME, Melaku S, Scott E, Souron A, Werdelin L, Kimbel WH, Reed KE. Early Pleistocene large mammals from Maka'amitalu, Hadar, lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13210. [PMID: 35411256 PMCID: PMC8994497 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The Early Pleistocene was a critical time period in the evolution of eastern African mammal faunas, but fossil assemblages sampling this interval are poorly known from Ethiopia's Afar Depression. Field work by the Hadar Research Project in the Busidima Formation exposures (~2.7-0.8 Ma) of Hadar in the lower Awash Valley, resulted in the recovery of an early Homo maxilla (A.L. 666-1) with associated stone tools and fauna from the Maka'amitalu basin in the 1990s. These assemblages are dated to ~2.35 Ma by the Bouroukie Tuff 3 (BKT-3). Continued work by the Hadar Research Project over the last two decades has greatly expanded the faunal collection. Here, we provide a comprehensive account of the Maka'amitalu large mammals (Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Primates, and Proboscidea) and discuss their paleoecological and biochronological significance. The size of the Maka'amitalu assemblage is small compared to those from the Hadar Formation (3.45-2.95 Ma) and Ledi-Geraru (2.8-2.6 Ma) but includes at least 20 taxa. Bovids, suids, and Theropithecus are common in terms of both species richness and abundance, whereas carnivorans, equids, and megaherbivores are rare. While the taxonomic composition of the Maka'amitalu fauna indicates significant species turnover from the Hadar Formation and Ledi-Geraru deposits, turnover seems to have occurred at a constant rate through time as taxonomic dissimilarity between adjacent fossil assemblages is strongly predicted by their age difference. A similar pattern characterizes functional ecological turnover, with only subtle changes in dietary proportions, body size proportions, and bovid abundances across the composite lower Awash sequence. Biochronological comparisons with other sites in eastern Africa suggest that the taxa recovered from the Maka'amitalu are broadly consistent with the reported age of the BKT-3 tuff. Considering the age of BKT-3 and biochronology, a range of 2.4-1.9 Ma is most likely for the faunal assemblage.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Rowan
- Department of Anthropology, University at Albany, Albany, New York, United States
| | | | - Christopher J. Campisano
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
| | | | - René Bobe
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution, Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom,Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique,Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behavior (ICArEHB), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Jean-Renaud Boisserie
- Laboratoire Paléontologie Évolution Paléoécosystèmes Paléoprimatologie, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France,Centre Français des Etudes Ethiopiennes (CNRS and Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Ambassade de France, Ethiopia), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Stephen R. Frost
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, United States
| | - Tomas Getachew
- Laboratoire Paléontologie Évolution Paléoécosystèmes Paléoprimatologie, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France,Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Christopher C. Gilbert
- Department of Anthropology, City University of New York, Hunter College, New York, United States,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, United States
| | - Margaret E. Lewis
- Biology Program, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Stockton University, Galloway, New Jersey, United States
| | - Sahleselasie Melaku
- Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,Paleoanthropology and Paleoenvironment Program, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Eric Scott
- Cogstone Resource Management Inc, Orange, California, United States,Department of Biology, California State University, San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California, United States
| | | | - Lars Werdelin
- Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - William H. Kimbel
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
| | - Kaye E. Reed
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
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Mosaic habitats at Woranso-Mille (Ethiopia) during the Pliocene and implications for Australopithecus paleoecology and taxonomic diversity. J Hum Evol 2022; 163:103076. [PMID: 34998271 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Many important Pliocene hominin specimens have been recovered from Woranso-Mille, a paleontological research area in the Afar region of Ethiopia, including the complete cranium of Australopithecus anamensis, a partial skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis, mandibular and maxillary elements representing a new species, Australopithecus deyiremeda, and a partial foot of an as-yet-unnamed species. Woranso-Mille is the only site, so far, to have reported the co-existence of more than one early hominin species between 3.8 and 3.3 Ma and the temporal overlap between A. anamensis and A. afarensis. Thus, the site has important implications for our understanding of the paleoecology and taxonomic diversity of early hominins and their ecological niche. This paper explores the paleohabitats of Woranso-Mille through its faunal community ecological structure and taxonomic composition using correspondence analysis and Forbes modified similarity index. The results suggest that Pliocene Woranso-Mille was a mosaic of different habitat types, with riparian woodland and floodplain grassland along rivers draining into a lake, along with less mesic habitats such as woodland, grassland, and shrubland. The apparent high level of vegetation heterogeneity may have promoted dietary specializations and niche differentiation among the different Australopithecus species at Woranso-Mille and allowed for their co-existence at the site.
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10
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Elton S, Dunn J. Baboon biogeography, divergence, and evolution: Morphological and paleoecological perspectives. J Hum Evol 2020; 145:102799. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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11
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Frost SR, Simpson SW, Levin NE, Quade J, Rogers MJ, Semaw S. Fossil Cercopithecidae from the Early Pliocene Sagantole Formation at Gona, Ethiopia. J Hum Evol 2020; 144:102789. [PMID: 32485477 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Revised: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The Early Pliocene Sagantole Fm. in the Gona Project area, Afar State, Ethiopia, is noted for discoveries of the early hominin Ardipithecus ramidus. A large series of fossil cercopithecid primates dated to between 4.8 and 4.3 Ma has also been collected from these sediments. In this paper, we use qualitative analysis and standard dental and postcranial measures to systematically describe the craniodental remains and tentatively allocate postcrania to taxa where we are able to. We then use these data to compare these specimens to fossil assemblages from contemporary sites, interpret their paleobiology, and discuss implications for the paleoecology of the Gona Sagantole Fm. We recognize three cercopithecid species in the Gona Sagantole Fm. Pliopapio alemui makes up approximately two-thirds of the identifiable specimens; nearly all of the rest are allocated to Kuseracolobus aramisi, and a single molar indicates the presence of a second, somewhat larger but morphologically distinct papionin. Among the Early Pliocene cercopithecids from Gona are also a number of postcranial elements. None of the postcranial remains are directly associated with any of the cranial material. Nonetheless, some of the distal humeri and proximal femora can be tentatively allocated to either Pl. alemui or K. aramisi based on a combination of size, as the latter is approximately 50% larger than the former, and morphology. If these assignments are correct, they suggest K. aramisi was primarily arboreal and similar to most extant colobines, whereas Pl. alemui was more mixed in its substrate use, being more terrestrially adapted than K. aramisi, but less so than extant Papio or Theropithecus. Thus, we interpret the predominance of Pl. alemui over K. aramisi is consistent with a somewhat more open environment at Gona than at Aramis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen R Frost
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403-1218, USA.
| | - Scott W Simpson
- Department of Anatomy, Case Western Reserve University-School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA; Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Naomi E Levin
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Jay Quade
- Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Michael J Rogers
- Department of Anthropology, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT, 06515-1355, USA
| | - Sileshi Semaw
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain; Stone Age Institute & CRAFT Research Center, Gosport, IN, 47408, USA
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12
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Martínez LM, Estebaranz-Sánchez F, Ferràndez-Cañadell C, Romero A, Ribot F, Galbany J, Gibert L, Pérez-Pérez A. Buccal dental-microwear and feeding ecology of Early Pleistocene Theropithecus oswaldi from Cueva Victoria (Spain). J Hum Evol 2020; 142:102736. [PMID: 32193025 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Revised: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Despite the scarcity of fossil specimens of Theropithecus oswaldi in Eurasia, its presence out of Africa attests to the great dispersal of this Papionini genus during the Early Pleistocene. In the present study, we analyze the buccal dental microwear of T. oswaldi (T. o. leakeyi) fossil specimens from Cueva Victoria (Southeastern Spain). This analysis is the first characterization of the feeding ecology of T. oswaldi in Europe. The buccal microwear pattern of the molar and premolar teeth of T. oswaldi from Cueva Victoria shows great similarities to that observed for the extant frugivorous forest-dwelling Mandrillus sphinx and mangabeys (Cercocebus sp.)-both species adapted to durophagous dietary habits-while significantly different from that observed for the gramnivorous Theropithecus gelada. These results suggest that T. oswaldi from Cueva Victoria could have exploited both hard-shelled fruits or seeds and succulent fruits from open and forested Mediterranean ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- L M Martínez
- Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08014, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - F Estebaranz-Sánchez
- Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08014, Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Unitat d'Antropologia Biològica, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Campus de Bellaterra, 08193, Bellaterra - Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - C Ferràndez-Cañadell
- Departament Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí Franquès s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Romero
- Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alicante, 99, 03080, Alicante, Spain
| | - F Ribot
- Museo Municipal de Prehistoria y Paleontología, Calle Las Tiendas s/n, 18858, Orce, Granada, Spain
| | - J Galbany
- Departament de Psicologia Clínica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Facultat de Psicologia, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035, Barcelona, Spain; Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - L Gibert
- Departament de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí Franquès s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Pérez-Pérez
- Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08014, Barcelona, Spain
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13
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Frost SR, Ward CV, Manthi FK, Plavcan JM. Cercopithecid fossils from Kanapoi, West Turkana, Kenya (2007-2015). J Hum Evol 2020; 140:102642. [PMID: 31959361 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Revised: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Recent fieldwork at Kanapoi has expanded the sample of fossil cercopithecids, facilitating a re-appraisal of their taxonomy. The assemblage now includes at least one species of cercopithecin, two papionins, and two colobines. The guenon Nanopithecus browni is similar in dental size to extant Miopithecus. We tentatively re-affirm the identification of Parapapio cf. ado and confirm the presence of Theropithecus. The colobines include a small form tentatively attributed to Kuseracolobus and a second larger species. The Kanapoi fossils represent the oldest occurrences of guenons in Africa and of the important genus Theropithecus, the most abundant and widespread primate in the Neogene of Africa. In the assemblage, Parapapio cf. ado is the most abundant form, comprising the majority of specimens. All of the other taxa are comparatively rare. Colobines make up a small part of the Kanapoi fossil assemblage compared to most other contemporary sites, including Allia Bay, Kenya, where, like Kanapoi, Australopithecus anamensis has been found. The presence of Theropithecus is consistent with the presence of some relatively open habitat at Kanapoi. While the ecological preferences of the small cercopithecin are unknown, most guenons are associated with relatively wooded habitats, as are most colobines, suggesting the availability of at least some wooded areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen R Frost
- Department of Anthropology, 1218 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1218, USA.
| | - Carol V Ward
- Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, M263 Medical Sciences Building, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA.
| | - Fredrick K Manthi
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40658, Nairobi, Kenya.
| | - J Michael Plavcan
- Department of Anthropology, 330 Old Main, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
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14
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Matsudaira K, Hamada Y, Bunlungsup S, Ishida T, San AM, Malaivijitnond S. Whole Mitochondrial Genomic and Y-Chromosomal Phylogenies of Burmese Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis aurea) Suggest Ancient Hybridization between fascicularis and sinica Species Groups. J Hered 2019; 109:360-371. [PMID: 29186474 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esx108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Macaca fascicularis aurea (Burmese long-tailed macaque) is 1 of the 10 subspecies of Macaca fascicularis. Despite having few morphological differences from other subspecies, a recent phylogeographic study showed that M. f. aurea is clearly distinct genetically from Macaca fascicularis fascicularis (common long-tailed macaque) and suggests that M. f. aurea experienced a disparate evolutionary pathway versus other subspecies. To construct a detailed evolutionary history of M. f. aurea and its relationships with other macaque species, we performed phylogenetic analyses and divergence time estimation of whole mitochondrial genomes (2 M. f. aurea, 8 M. f. fascicularis, and 16 animals of 12 macaque species) and 2871 bp of the Y chromosome (1 M. f. aurea, 2 M. f. fascicularis, and 5 animals of 5 macaque species) and haplotype network analysis of 758 bp of the Y chromosome (1 M. f. aurea, 2 M. f. fascicularis, and 21 animals of 19 macaque species). Whereas the Y chromosome of M. f. aurea clustered with those of the fascicularis species group in the phylogenetic and haplotype network analyses, its mtDNA clustered within the clade of the sinica species group. Based on this phylogenetic incongruence and the estimated divergence times, we propose that proto-M. f. aurea underwent hybridization with a population of the sinica species group between 2.5 and 0.95 MYA after divergence from the common ancestor of M. fascicularis. Hybridization and introgression might have been central in the evolution of M. f. aurea, similar to what occurred in the evolution of other macaque species and subspecies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazunari Matsudaira
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Pathumwan, Bangkok, Thailand.,National Primate Research Center of Thailand, Chulalongkorn University, Saraburi, Thailand
| | - Yuzuru Hamada
- Evolutionary Morphology Section, Department of Evolution and Phylogeny, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | - Srichan Bunlungsup
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Pathumwan, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Takafumi Ishida
- Unit of Human Biology and Genetics, Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Aye Mi San
- Department of Zoology, University of Yangon, Kamayut, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - Suchinda Malaivijitnond
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Pathumwan, Bangkok, Thailand.,National Primate Research Center of Thailand, Chulalongkorn University, Saraburi, Thailand
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15
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Pallas L, Daver G, Mackaye HT, Likius A, Vignaud P, Guy F. A window into the early evolutionary history of Cercopithecidae: Late Miocene evidence from Chad, Central Africa. J Hum Evol 2019; 132:61-79. [PMID: 31203852 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Revised: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Central Africa is known as a major center of diversification for extant Old World Monkeys (OWM) and yet has a poorly documented fossil record of monkeys. Here we report a new colobine monkey (Cercopithecoides bruneti sp. nov.) from the Central African hominin-bearing fossiliferous area of Toros-Menalla, Chad at ca. 7 Ma. In addition to filling a gap in the spatial and temporal record of early OWM evolutionary history, we assess the ecomorphological diversity of early OWM by providing evidence on the onset of a folivorous diet and a partial reacquisition of terrestrial locomotor habits among Miocene colobines. We also support the phylogenetic affinities of the genus Cercopithecoides among the stem group of the extant African colobine monkeys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Pallas
- PALEVOPRIM: Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie, CNRS UMR 7262, Université de Poitiers, 86022 Poitiers cedex, France
| | - Guillaume Daver
- PALEVOPRIM: Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie, CNRS UMR 7262, Université de Poitiers, 86022 Poitiers cedex, France
| | - Hassane T Mackaye
- Département de Paléontologie, Université de N'Djamena, BP 1117, N'Djamena, Chad
| | - Andossa Likius
- Département de Paléontologie, Université de N'Djamena, BP 1117, N'Djamena, Chad
| | - Patrick Vignaud
- PALEVOPRIM: Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie, CNRS UMR 7262, Université de Poitiers, 86022 Poitiers cedex, France
| | - Franck Guy
- PALEVOPRIM: Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie, CNRS UMR 7262, Université de Poitiers, 86022 Poitiers cedex, France.
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16
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Pugh KD, Gilbert CC. Phylogenetic relationships of living and fossil African papionins: Combined evidence from morphology and molecules. J Hum Evol 2018; 123:35-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Revised: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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17
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Evolution of the modern baboon (Papio hamadryas): A reassessment of the African Plio-Pleistocene record. J Hum Evol 2018; 122:38-69. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Revised: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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18
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Zinner D, Atickem A, Beehner JC, Bekele A, Bergman TJ, Burke R, Dolotovskaya S, Fashing PJ, Gippoliti S, Knauf S, Knauf Y, Mekonnen A, Moges A, Nguyen N, Stenseth NC, Roos C. Phylogeography, mitochondrial DNA diversity, and demographic history of geladas (Theropithecus gelada). PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202303. [PMID: 30138418 PMCID: PMC6107150 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Accepted: 07/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The large-bodied, terrestrial primates in the tribe Papionini are among the most intensely studied animals in the world, yet for some members of this tribe we know comparatively little about their evolutionary history and phylogeography. Geladas (Theropithecus gelada Rüppell, 1835), endemic primates of the Ethiopian highlands, are largely unstudied both in genetic diversity and intrageneric phylogeny. Currently, a northern and central subspecies and one isolated southern population are recognized, of which the central is classified as Least Concern, the northern as Vulnerable, and the southern is not yet assessed. The distribution and taxonomy of the subspecies remain poorly defined. Here, we estimate the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity and phylogenetic relationships among gelada mtDNA lineages based on samples across the entire species range. We analysed 1.7 kb-long sequences of the mtDNA genome, spanning the cytochrome b gene and the hypervariable region I of the D-loop, derived from 162 faecal samples. We detected five major haplogroups or clades (south, central-1, central-2, north-1, north-2) which diverged between 0.67 and 0.43 million years ago, thus suggesting a rapid radiation, resulting in largely unresolved intrageneric phylogenetic relationships. Both, the northern and central demes contain two similarly valid haplogroups, each with little or no geographic segregation among respective haplogroups. Effective population sizes of the northern and central demes decreased during and after the last glacial maximum but remained stable for the southern deme, although on a very low level. The distribution of haplogroups within the geographic ranges of the putative gelada subspecies indicates that mtDNA sequence information does not allow reliable taxonomic inferences and thus is not sufficient for solving the taxonomic rank of the three demic populations, with the possible exception of the southern population. Nevertheless, due to the genetic differences all three populations deserve conservation efforts, in particular the smallest southern population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dietmar Zinner
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center (DPZ), Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen, Germany
- * E-mail: (DZ); (CR)
| | - Anagaw Atickem
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center (DPZ), Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen, Germany
- Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center (DPZ), Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jacinta C. Beehner
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
| | - Afework Bekele
- Department of Zoological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Thore J. Bergman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
| | - Ryan Burke
- Long-Term Ecology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Sofya Dolotovskaya
- Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center (DPZ), Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter J. Fashing
- Department of Anthropology & Environmental Studies Program, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States of America
| | - Spartaco Gippoliti
- Società Italiana per la Storia della Fauna “G. Altobello”, Viale Liegi 48A, Roma, Italy
| | - Sascha Knauf
- Work Group Neglected Tropical Diseases, Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Yvonne Knauf
- Work Group Neglected Tropical Diseases, Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Göttingen, Burckhardtweg 2, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Addisu Mekonnen
- Department of Zoological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
| | - Amera Moges
- Department of Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
| | - Nga Nguyen
- Department of Anthropology & Environmental Studies Program, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States of America
| | - Nils Chr. Stenseth
- Department of Zoological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
| | - Christian Roos
- Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center (DPZ), Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen, Germany
- Gene Bank of Primates, German Primate Center (DPZ), Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen, Germany
- * E-mail: (DZ); (CR)
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19
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Forelimb morphology and substrate use in extant Cercopithecidae and the fossil primate community of the Hadar sequence, Ethiopia. J Hum Evol 2018; 123:70-83. [PMID: 30057327 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2016] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
It is suggested that joint architecture of the extant cercopithecid forelimb differentiates terrestrial from arboreal quadrupedal species. Linear dimensions of forelimb joint morphology have also been used to assign fossil species to locomotor categories. However, many primates use a mix of terrestrial and arboreal behaviors, which can be problematic when developing models of behavior reconstruction using morphological variation. The current study uses multivariate analyses to identify morphology related to substrate use in primates, including determination of semiterrestriality. Measurements collected from distal humeri and proximal ulnae of 49 extant cercopithecid primate species were selected based on studies indicating that they could individually predict substrate use. Analyses including one-way analysis of variance, principal components, and discriminant functions were conducted to assess their ability to differentiate between arboreal and terrestrial substrate use. The functions created in these analyses are then applied to data from fossil specimens from the Hadar sequence, Ethiopia, sampling both the Hadar and overlying Busidima Formations, to retrodict possible substrate behavior of fossil monkeys at Hadar through time. As this study is designed to identify function and behavior rather than phylogeny, the taxonomic assignment of the fossil specimens is sometimes uncertain, but substrate behavior can still be inferred. Results suggest that substrate use, including semiterrestrial behavior, in extant and extinct primates can be inferred successfully from multivariate analyses based on joint morphology of the monkey elbow. This study reveals that the ecological distribution of primarily terrestrial fossil primate species of the Hadar sequence is comparable to modern-day communities in habitats similar to those reconstructed for the Hadar members.
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20
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Souron A. Morphology, diet, and stable carbon isotopes: On the diet of Theropithecus
and some limits of uniformitarianism in paleoecology. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 166:261-267. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2017] [Revised: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Souron
- PACEA, UMR 5199, Université de Bordeaux, Bâtiment B18, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023; Pessac, 33615 France
- Human Evolution Research Center, University of California; Berkeley California 94720-3140
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21
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Frost SR, Saanane C, Starkovich BM, Schwartz H, Schrenk F, Harvati K. New cranium of the large cercopithecid primate Theropithecus oswaldi leakeyi (Hopwood, 1934) from the paleoanthropological site of Makuyuni, Tanzania. J Hum Evol 2017; 109:46-56. [PMID: 28688459 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2016] [Revised: 05/08/2017] [Accepted: 05/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Pleistocene hominin site of Makuyuni, near Lake Manyara, Tanzania, is known for fossils attributable to Homo and Acheulean artifacts (Ring et al., 2005; Kaiser et al., 2010; Frost et al., 2012). Here we describe the fossil primate material from the Manyara Beds, which includes the first nearly complete female cranium of Theropithecus oswaldi leakeyi and a proximal tibia from the same taxon. The cranium is dated to between 633 and 780 Ka and the tibia to the Pleistocene. The T. oswaldi lineage is one of the most important among Neogene mammals of Africa: it is both widespread and abundant. The size of the dentition, cranium, and tibia all confirm the previously recognized trend of increasing body size in this lineage and make their taxonomic assignments secure. The morphology of this specimen provides new insights into the evolution of this lineage through time, as well as its geographic variation and sexual dimorphism. The cranium also shows damage consistent with a mammalian carnivore, most likely a felid. The identification of this material as representing T. o. leakeyi agrees with the Middle Pleistocene age estimates for the MK4 locality in particular and the Manyara Beds in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen R Frost
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1218, USA.
| | - Charles Saanane
- Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, School of Humanities, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35050, Tanzania
| | - Britt M Starkovich
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at Tübingen, and Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Hilde Schwartz
- Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | | | - Katerina Harvati
- Paleoanthropology, Department of Geosciences, and Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
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22
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Beaudet A, Dumoncel J, de Beer F, Duployer B, Durrleman S, Gilissen E, Hoffman J, Tenailleau C, Thackeray JF, Braga J. Morphoarchitectural variation in South African fossil cercopithecoid endocasts. J Hum Evol 2016; 101:65-78. [PMID: 27886811 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2016] [Revised: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 09/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Despite the abundance of well-preserved crania and natural endocasts in the South African Plio-Pleistocene cercopithecoid record, which provide direct information relevant to the evolution of their endocranial characteristics, few studies have attempted to characterize patterns of external brain morphology in this highly successful primate Superfamily. The availability of non-destructive penetrating radiation imaging systems, together with recently developed computer-based analytical tools, allow for high resolution virtual imaging and modeling of the endocranial casts and thus disclose new perspectives in comparative paleoneurology. Here, we use X-ray microtomographic-based 3D virtual imaging and quantitative analyses to investigate the endocranial organization of 14 cercopithecoid specimens from the South African sites of Makapansgat, Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, and Taung. We present the first detailed comparative description of the external neuroanatomies that characterize these Plio-Pleistocene primates. Along with reconstruction of endocranial volumes, we combine a semi-automatic technique for extracting the neocortical sulcal pattern together with a landmark-free surface deformation method to investigate topographic differences in morphostructural organization. Besides providing and comparing for the first time endocranial volume estimates of extinct Plio-Pleistocene South African cercopithecoid taxa, we report additional information regarding the variation in the sulcal pattern of Theropithecus oswaldi subspecies, and notably of the central sulcus, and the neuroanatomical condition of the colobine taxon Cercopithecoides williamsi, suggested to be similar for some aspects to the papionin pattern, and discuss potential phylogenetic and taxonomic implications. Further research in virtual paleoneurology, applied to specimens from a wider geographic area, is needed to clarify the polarity, intensity, and timing of cortical surface evolution in cercopithecoid lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Beaudet
- Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, PO Box 2034, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse, UMR 5288 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 37 Allées Jules Guesde, 31073 Toulouse Cedex 3, France.
| | - Jean Dumoncel
- Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse, UMR 5288 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 37 Allées Jules Guesde, 31073 Toulouse Cedex 3, France; Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse, UMR 5505 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Frikkie de Beer
- Radiation Science Department, South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, Pelindaba, North West Province, South Africa
| | - Benjamin Duployer
- Centre Inter-universitaire de Recherche et d'Ingénierie des Matériaux, UMR 5085 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Stanley Durrleman
- Aramis Team, INRIA Paris, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, 47 boulevard de l'hôpital, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Emmanuel Gilissen
- Department of African Zoology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvensesteenweg, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium; Laboratory of Histology and Neuropathology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Jakobus Hoffman
- Radiation Science Department, South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, Pelindaba, North West Province, South Africa
| | - Christophe Tenailleau
- Centre Inter-universitaire de Recherche et d'Ingénierie des Matériaux, UMR 5085 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - John Francis Thackeray
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - José Braga
- Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse, UMR 5288 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 37 Allées Jules Guesde, 31073 Toulouse Cedex 3, France; Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
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Curran SC, Haile-Selassie Y. Paleoecological reconstruction of hominin-bearing middle Pliocene localities at Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. J Hum Evol 2016; 96:97-112. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2014] [Revised: 04/14/2016] [Accepted: 04/16/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Reassessment of Olduvai Bed I cercopithecoids: A new biochronological and biogeographical link to the South African fossil record. J Hum Evol 2016; 92:50-59. [PMID: 26989016 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2015] [Revised: 12/04/2015] [Accepted: 12/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Fossil monkeys have long been used as important faunal elements in studies of African Plio-Pleistocene biochronology, particularly in the case of the South African karst cave sites. Cercopithecoid fossils have been known from Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge for nearly a century, with multiple taxa documented including Theropithecus oswaldi and Cercopithecoides kimeui, along with papionins and colobines less clearly attributable to species. A small number of large papionin fossils, including a partial male cranium and partial female skull, have been previously identified as an early form of Papio, but noted as distinct from extant baboons as well as other fossil Papio species. In 2013 we reviewed the Olduvai cercopithecoid material at the National Museum of Tanzania, with a particular focus on the specimens from Beds I-IV. Quantitative and qualitative comparisons of the Olduvai papionins largely confirmed previous observations, with one notable exception. The large papionin taxon from Bed I previously recognized as Papio sp. is more properly recognized as Gorgopithecus major, a taxon previously known only from South Africa. Features shared between the Olduvai specimens and G. major include relatively short and concavo-convex tubular nasals, antero-posteriorly curved upper incisor roots, downwardly curved brow ridges in the midline, and robust zygomatic arches. The recognition of G. major at Olduvai Bed I, a well-known horizon with precise radiometric dates, provides an important biochronological and biogeographical link with South African localities Kromdraai A, Swartkrans Member 1 and possibly Swartkrans Members 2-3 and Cooper's A and D.
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SHOTAKE TAKAYOSHI, SAIJUNTHA WEERACHAI, AGATSUMA TAKESHI, KAWAMOTO YOSHI. Genetic diversity within and among gelada ( Theropithecus gelada) populations based on mitochondrial DNA analysis. ANTHROPOL SCI 2016. [DOI: 10.1537/ase.160717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - WEERACHAI SAIJUNTHA
- Walai Rukhavej Botanical Research Institute, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham
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Dietary change among hominins and cercopithecids in Ethiopia during the early Pliocene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:12304-9. [PMID: 26371308 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1424982112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The incorporation of C4 resources into hominin diet signifies increased dietary breadth within hominins and divergence from the dietary patterns of other great apes. Morphological evidence indicates that hominin diet became increasingly diverse by 4.2 million years ago but may not have included large proportions of C4 foods until 800 thousand years later, given the available isotopic evidence. Here we use carbon isotope data from early to mid Pliocene hominin and cercopithecid fossils from Woranso-Mille (central Afar, Ethiopia) to constrain the timing of this dietary change and its ecological context. We show that both hominins and some papionins expanded their diets to include C4 resources as early as 3.76 Ma. Among hominins, this dietary expansion postdates the major dentognathic morphological changes that distinguish Australopithecus from Ardipithecus, but it occurs amid a continuum of adaptations to diets of tougher, harder foods and to committed terrestrial bipedality. In contrast, carbon isotope data from cercopithecids indicate that C4-dominated diets of the earliest members of the Theropithecus oswaldi lineage preceded the dental specialization for grazing but occurred after they were fully terrestrial. The combined data indicate that the inclusion of C4 foods in hominin diet occurred as part of broader ecological changes in African primate communities.
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Abstract
Australopithecus bahrelghazali, its origin and palaeobiology are not well understood. Reported from only one location some several thousand kilometres away from East African Pliocene hominin sites, it appears to have predominantly fed on C4 sources. Yet, it lacks the morphological adaptations of other primate C4 consumers like Paranthropus boisei and Theropithecus oswaldi. Furthermore, although considered to belong to Australopithecus afarensis by most researchers, A. bahrelghazali appears to differ from the former in a key aspect of its morphology: enamel thickness. To assess the phylogeny and palaeobiology of A. bahrelghazali, I first evaluate the dietary adaptations and energetics of A. bahrelghazali using empirical data of the feeding ecology of extant baboons, Papio cynocephalus. Information published on A. bahrelghazali morphology and habitat preference is used to select C4 foods with the appropriate mechanical properties and availability within the environment to create the models. By altering the feeding time on various food categories, I then test whether A. bahrelghazali could have subsisted on a C4 diet, thus accounting for the δ(13)C composition of its dental tissue. The effects of body mass on the volume of food consumed are taken into account. The outcomes of these simulations indicate that A. bahrelghazali could have subsisted on a diet of predominantly sedges, albeit with limitations. At higher energy requirements, i.e., above 3.5 times the BMR, it would be difficult for a medium-sized primate to obtain sufficient energy from a sedge-based diet. This is apparently due to constraints on foraging/feeding time, not because of the nutritional value of sedges per se. These results are discussed against the backdrop of A. bahrelghazali biogeography, palaeoenvironment, and phylogeny. The combined evidence makes it plausible to suggest that Northern Chad may have been a refugium for migrating mammals, including hominins, and throws new light on the deep history of A. bahrelghazali.
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Kopp GH, Roos C, Butynski TM, Wildman DE, Alagaili AN, Groeneveld LF, Zinner D. Out of Africa, but how and when? The case of hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas). J Hum Evol 2014; 76:154-64. [PMID: 25257698 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2014] [Revised: 08/07/2014] [Accepted: 08/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Many species of Arabian mammals are considered to be of Afrotropical origin and for most of them the Red Sea has constituted an obstacle for dispersal since the Miocene-Pliocene transition. There are two possible routes, the 'northern' and the 'southern', for terrestrial mammals (including humans) to move between Africa and Arabia. The 'northern route', crossing the Sinai Peninsula, is confirmed for several taxa by an extensive fossil record, especially from northern Egypt and the Levant, whereas the 'southern route', across the Bab-el-Mandab Strait, which links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, is more controversial, although post-Pliocene terrestrial crossings of the Red Sea might have been possible during glacial maxima when sea levels were low. Hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) are the only baboon taxon to disperse out of Africa and still inhabit Arabia. In this study, we investigate the origin of Arabian hamadryas baboons using mitochondrial sequence data from 294 samples collected in Arabia and Northeast Africa. Through the analysis of the geographic distribution of genetic diversity, the timing of population expansions, and divergence time estimates combined with palaeoecological data, we test: (i) if Arabian and African hamadryas baboons are genetically distinct; (ii) if Arabian baboons exhibit population substructure; and (iii) when, and via which route, baboons colonized Arabia. Our results suggest that hamadryas baboons colonized Arabia during the Late Pleistocene (130-12 kya [thousands of years ago]) and also moved back to Africa. We reject the hypothesis that hamadryas baboons were introduced to Arabia by humans, because the initial colonization considerably predates the earliest records of human seafaring in this region. Our results strongly suggest that the 'southern route' from Africa to Arabia could have been used by hamadryas baboons during the same time period as proposed for modern humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela H Kopp
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Christian Roos
- Gene Bank of Primates and Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Thomas M Butynski
- King Khalid Wildlife Research Centre, Saudi Wildlife Authority, P.O. Box 61681, Riyadh 11575, Saudi Arabia; Conservation Programs, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, United Kingdom.
| | - Derek E Wildman
- Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 540 E. Canfield Ave. 3240 Scott Hall, Detroit, MI 48220, USA.
| | - Abdulaziz N Alagaili
- KSU Mammals Research Chair, Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Saudi Wildlife Authority, P.O. Box 61681, Riyadh 11575, Saudi Arabia.
| | | | - Dietmar Zinner
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
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