DOCSLIB.ORG

PRIMATE and HUMAN EVOLUTION. By

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
PRIMATE and HUMAN EVOLUTION. By 420 BOOK REVIEWS MAN’S ANCESTORS:AN INTRODUCTIONTO necessarily be independent and parallel PRIMATEAND HUMANEVOLUTION. By in the hominoid and cercopithecoid line- Ian Tattersall. 64 pp., figures, bibliog- ages. While this is not impossible, it seems raphy, index. John Murray Publishers, less likely than the possibility that the London. 1970. $4.75 (paper). molar constriction is a parallelism. Aeol- opithecus is suggested as a possible gibbon Tattersall has written a very useful ancestor. However, in many respects it textbook for an introductory course deal- makes as good an ancestor of dryopithe- ing, in part, with primate and human cines as does Aegyptopithecus. The third evolution. The book is not thorough molars of Aeolopithecus are diminutive. enough to be the only text in a course On the other hand, the “V” shape of the dealing primarily with the fossil record, mandible, with large laterally flaring ca- but could be used along with a book like nines and crowded incisor roots, make it Guide to Fossil Man (Day), or with a read- resemble some of the earliest Miocene er for this purpose. As it is, a number of dryopithecines such as Rusinga 394 (for- different courses could be constructed us- merly “Kenyapithecus africanus”), or ing it along with another text. For in- SGR 1, the Dryopithecus major mandible. stance, used with The Meaning of Evolu- In sum, the relations of these Oligocene tion (Simpson), a course could deal with primates with later taxa may not be as evolution theory and its application to clear as Tattersall suggests. fossils, Man’s Ancestors makes an excel- In discussing the Miocene primates, he lent supplement to Origin of Man (Buett- suggests that D. nyanzae is ancestral to ner-Janusch) in a general introductory D. major and D. africanus, which, in course. turn, gave rise to gorillas and chimpan- The book includes many photographs zees. This is a very important suggestion published for the first time, such as oc- because if true, it means that hominids clusal views of Oligopithecus (fig. 7.8) and arose about 18 million years ago, since Aegyptopithecus (fig. 7.5). Indeed, the both DNA hybridization and albumin im- Oligocene and Miocene primate sections munological distance measurements show are the strongest, as one might expect. hominids are equally related to chimpan- The book becomes progressively weaker as zees and gorillas. However, he gives no one approaches the present. supportive data, indicates no supportive Tattersall promises us: “I have not tried arguments, and if anything confuses the for the sake of simplification to present entire issue by using the Moroto palate any clear-cut schemes where none exist.” to represent D. major, although this spe- However, this is not always the case. The cimen is dated considerably later than the Fayum is the only Old World primate- other dryopithecines (14 million years) yielding Oligocene site. As such, I believe and judging by the expanded anterior there has been a tendency to trace all dentition, represents an entirely different higher primate lineages to this single adaptation than the Rusinga D. major homogeneous tropical forest area! Conse- specimens. quently, Apidium is thought to be ances- The discussion of Ramapithecus as “the tral to Oreopithecus because of the cen- earliest hominid’ reviews many of the troconid cusp on the lower molars, in current arguments. However, some of his spite of the presence of a M3 from Maboko statements lend more confusion than clar- in East Africa with a centroconid cusp. ification to this very important point. For This East African site has savanna fauna, instance, the canine of the Fort Ternan and it is unlikely that the African speci- specimen is not “relatively reduced . men bore much resemblance to the iso- even compared to the smallest ape.” lated Italian swamp-ape. Parapithecus is Rather, it is about the same size, relative given as a possible ancestor of cercopithe- to the molars, as the canine of female coid monkeys because of the “waisted’ gorillas. That the premolars of the max- midpoint of the lower molars. However, illae are homomorphic is irrelevent since, Parapithecus has three premolars. Should as he points out elsewhere (p. 24), hetero- it be ancestral to the cercopithecoid mon- morphism refers only to mandibulae. Ac- keys, the loss of the third premolar would tually, there is now a mandible that goes BOOK REVIEWS 42 1 with the Fort Ternan maxilla. The pre- (STS 7) is larger than all but one other molars are present, and they are hetero- (STS 36). It is little wonder that the hu- morphic! If Ramapithecus is a hominid, merus from STS 7 seems too large for the it is for none of the reasons given above. body size of STS 14! Second, he suggests Of course, the expanded occlusal surfaces that because the average australopithe- of the molars, and the closely packed cine age at death is about 18, if reproduc- teeth, are very Australopithecus-like, but tion began at 13 most australopithecine these features also characterize Gigant- children would have neither parent alive opithecus. Again, the picture is not as by maturity. This reasoning ignores the clear as one might have hoped. high child mortality which lowers the The chapter dealing with the austral- average lifespan. Actually, of those who opithecines themselves is quite complete, survive to 13, almost 70% go on to reach discussing some of the new specimens and the age of 20, and close to 20% live to 30. emphasizing the continuous transition Consequently, most children would have between the australopithecines and Homo at least one parent through maturity, and erectus. Aside from a few mistakes (the about 20% of the children could have almost complete vertebral column, pelvis, known their grandparents, if such kinship and femur come from Sterkfontein, some relations were recognized. A. africanus specimens such as MLD 1 Unfortunately, the Middle and Late show evidence of having had a sagittal Pleistocene sections treat the fossil ma- crest, robust australopithecine anterior terial in a much more general fashion. teeth are not particularly small, etc.), I This trend is almost exponential, termi- question two of his inferences. First, he nating with the statement: “All human suggests relatively longer arms in gracile fossils younger than about 30,000 years australopithecines than in Homo sapiens, are fully modern in every particular.” stating: “the Sterkfontein humerus is as Surely human evolution did not end big as that of a modern man, and belong- 30,000 years ago! ing to a much smaller animal implies that In spite of these problems, I highly rec- the arms of A. africanus were relatively ommend the book. It is one of the best more robust that those of H. sapiens, and available for introductory courses. I have that the two species may have differed in used the book in such a course and find their body proportions.” However, the hu- that while numerous points raised by it, merus (STS 7) comes from a different in- and concepts used in it, have to be fur- dividual than the vertebral column from ther explained, the discussions are lively, which the body size estimate is based and the class maintains a high level of (STS 14). The STS 14 femur gives a cal- interest. culated height smaller than all but one other specimen (STS 65) at the site, while MILFORD H. WOLPOFF the mandible associated with the humerus University of Michigan .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Early Anthropoid Femora Reveal Divergent Adaptive Trajectories in Catarrhine Hind-Limb Evolution
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Diposit Digital de Documents de la UAB ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12742-0 OPEN Early anthropoid femora reveal divergent adaptive trajectories in catarrhine hind-limb evolution Sergio Almécija 1,2,3*, Melissa Tallman 4, Hesham M. Sallam 5, John G. Fleagle 6, Ashley S. Hammond1,2 & Erik R. Seiffert 7 The divergence of crown catarrhines—i.e., the split of cercopithecoids (Old World monkeys) from hominoids (apes and humans)—is a poorly understood phase in our shared evolutionary 1234567890():,; history with other primates. The two groups differ in the anatomy of the hip joint, a pattern that has been linked to their locomotor strategies: relatively restricted motion in cerco- pithecoids vs. more eclectic movements in hominoids. Here we take advantage of the first well-preserved proximal femur of the early Oligocene stem catarrhine Aegyptopithecus to investigate the evolution of this anatomical region using 3D morphometric and phylogenetically-informed evolutionary analyses. Our analyses reveal that cercopithecoids and hominoids have undergone divergent evolutionary transformations of the proximal femur from a similar ancestral morphology that is not seen in any living anthropoid, but is preserved in Aegyptopithecus, stem platyrrhines, and stem cercopithecoids. These results highlight the relevance of fossil evidence for illuminating key adaptive shifts in primate evolution. 1 Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA. 2 New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA. 3 Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
    [Show full text]
  • Unravelling the Positional Behaviour of Fossil Hominoids: Morphofunctional and Structural Analysis of the Primate Hindlimb
    ADVERTIMENT. Lʼaccés als continguts dʼaquesta tesi queda condicionat a lʼacceptació de les condicions dʼús establertes per la següent llicència Creative Commons: http://cat.creativecommons.org/?page_id=184 ADVERTENCIA. El acceso a los contenidos de esta tesis queda condicionado a la aceptación de las condiciones de uso establecidas por la siguiente licencia Creative Commons: http://es.creativecommons.org/blog/licencias/ WARNING. The access to the contents of this doctoral thesis it is limited to the acceptance of the use conditions set by the following Creative Commons license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/?lang=en Doctorado en Biodiversitat Facultad de Ciènces Tesis doctoral Unravelling the positional behaviour of fossil hominoids: Morphofunctional and structural analysis of the primate hindlimb Marta Pina Miguel 2016 Memoria presentada por Marta Pina Miguel para optar al grado de Doctor por la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, programa de doctorado en Biodiversitat del Departamento de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d’Ecologia (Facultad de Ciències). Este trabajo ha sido dirigido por el Dr. Salvador Moyà Solà (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont) y el Dr. Sergio Almécija Martínez (The George Washington Univertisy). Director Co-director Dr. Salvador Moyà Solà Dr. Sergio Almécija Martínez A mis padres y hermana. Y a todas aquelas personas que un día decidieron perseguir un sueño Contents Acknowledgments [in Spanish] 13 Abstract 19 Resumen 21 Section I. Introduction 23 Hominoid positional behaviour The great apes of the Vallès-Penedès Basin: State-of-the-art Section II. Objectives 55 Section III. Material and Methods 59 Hindlimb fossil remains of the Vallès-Penedès hominoids Comparative sample Area of study: The Vallès-Penedès Basin Methodology: Generalities and principles Section IV.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 1 - Introduction
    EURASIAN MIDDLE AND LATE MIOCENE HOMINOID PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY AND THE GEOGRAPHIC ORIGINS OF THE HOMININAE by Mariam C. Nargolwalla A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Anthropology University of Toronto © Copyright by M. Nargolwalla (2009) Eurasian Middle and Late Miocene Hominoid Paleobiogeography and the Geographic Origins of the Homininae Mariam C. Nargolwalla Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto 2009 Abstract The origin and diversification of great apes and humans is among the most researched and debated series of events in the evolutionary history of the Primates. A fundamental part of understanding these events involves reconstructing paleoenvironmental and paleogeographic patterns in the Eurasian Miocene; a time period and geographic expanse rich in evidence of lineage origins and dispersals of numerous mammalian lineages, including apes. Traditionally, the geographic origin of the African ape and human lineage is considered to have occurred in Africa, however, an alternative hypothesis favouring a Eurasian origin has been proposed. This hypothesis suggests that that after an initial dispersal from Africa to Eurasia at ~17Ma and subsequent radiation from Spain to China, fossil apes disperse back to Africa at least once and found the African ape and human lineage in the late Miocene. The purpose of this study is to test the Eurasian origin hypothesis through the analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of distribution, in situ evolution, interprovincial and intercontinental dispersals of Eurasian terrestrial mammals in response to environmental factors. Using the NOW and Paleobiology databases, together with data collected through survey and excavation of middle and late Miocene vertebrate localities in Hungary and Romania, taphonomic bias and sampling completeness of Eurasian faunas are assessed.
    [Show full text]
  • Aspects of Ecology and Adaptation with an Emphasis on Hominoid Evolution
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-1997 Aspects of Ecology and Adaptation with an Emphasis on hominoid Evolution Clare Katharine Stott University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Stott, Clare Katharine, "Aspects of Ecology and Adaptation with an Emphasis on hominoid Evolution. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1997. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4234 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Clare Katharine Stott entitled "Aspects of Ecology and Adaptation with an Emphasis on hominoid Evolution." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Andrew Kramer, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Richard Jantz, Lyle Konigsberg Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Clare K. Stott entitled "Aspects of Ecology and Adaptation with an Emphasis on Hominoid Evolution".
    [Show full text]
  • The Mysterious Phylogeny of Gigantopithecus
    Kimberly Nail Department ofAnthropology University ofTennessee - Knoxville The Mysterious Phylogeny of Gigantopithecus Perhaps the most questionable attribute given to Gigantopithecus is its taxonomic and phylogenetic placement in the superfamily Hominoidea. In 1935 von Koenigswald made the first discovery ofa lower molar at an apothecary in Hong Kong. In a mess of"dragon teeth" von Koenigswald saw a tooth that looked remarkably primate-like and purchased it; this tooth would later be one offour looked at by a skeptical friend, Franz Weidenreich. It was this tooth that von Koenigswald originally used to name the species Gigantopithecus blacki. Researchers have only four mandibles and thousands ofteeth which they use to reconstruct not only the existence ofthis primate, but its size and phylogeny as well. Many objections have been raised to the past phylogenetic relationship proposed by Weidenreich, Woo, and von Koenigswald that Gigantopithecus was a forerunner to the hominid line. Some suggest that researchers might be jumping the gun on the size attributed to Gigantopithecus (estimated between 10 and 12 feet tall); this size has perpetuated the idea that somehow Gigantopithecus is still roaming the Himalayas today as Bigfoot. Many researchers have shunned the Bigfoot theory and focused on the causes of the animals extinction. It is my intention to explain the theories ofthe past and why many researchers currently disagree with them. It will be necessary to explain how the researchers conducted their experiments and came to their conclusions as well. The Research The first anthropologist to encounter Gigantopithecus was von Koenigswald who happened upon them in a Hong Kong apothecary selling "dragon teeth." Due to their large size one may not even have thought that they belonged to any sort ofprimate, however von Koenigswald knew better because ofthe markings on the molar.
    [Show full text]
  • 8. Primate Evolution
    8. Primate Evolution Jonathan M. G. Perry, Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Stephanie L. Canington, B.A., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Learning Objectives • Understand the major trends in primate evolution from the origin of primates to the origin of our own species • Learn about primate adaptations and how they characterize major primate groups • Discuss the kinds of evidence that anthropologists use to find out how extinct primates are related to each other and to living primates • Recognize how the changing geography and climate of Earth have influenced where and when primates have thrived or gone extinct The first fifty million years of primate evolution was a series of adaptive radiations leading to the diversification of the earliest lemurs, monkeys, and apes. The primate story begins in the canopy and understory of conifer-dominated forests, with our small, furtive ancestors subsisting at night, beneath the notice of day-active dinosaurs. From the archaic plesiadapiforms (archaic primates) to the earliest groups of true primates (euprimates), the origin of our own order is characterized by the struggle for new food sources and microhabitats in the arboreal setting. Climate change forced major extinctions as the northern continents became increasingly dry, cold, and seasonal and as tropical rainforests gave way to deciduous forests, woodlands, and eventually grasslands. Lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers—once diverse groups containing many species—became rare, except for lemurs in Madagascar where there were no anthropoid competitors and perhaps few predators. Meanwhile, anthropoids (monkeys and apes) emerged in the Old World, then dispersed across parts of the northern hemisphere, Africa, and ultimately South America.
    [Show full text]
  • Postcranial Evidence of Late Miocene Hominin Bipedalism in Chad
    Postcranial evidence of late Miocene hominin bipedalism in Chad Franck Guy ( [email protected] ) Université de Poitiers / CNRS UMR 7262 - PALEVOPRIM Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléo-écosytèmes, Paléoprimatologie Guillaume Daver CNRS, UMR 7262 Hassane Taisso Mackaye Université de N'Djamena Andossa Likius Université de N'Djamena - Faculté de Sciences Exactes et Appliquées -Département de Paléontologie Jean-Renaud Boisserie Université de Poitiers and CNRS Abderamane Moussa Université de N'Djamena - Faculté de Sciences Exactes et Appliquées -Département de Paléontologie Patrick Vignaud CNRS UMR 6046 Clarisse Nekoulnang Centre National de Développement et de la Recherches (CNRD) - Service de Conservation et Valorisation des Fossiles Research Article Keywords: Terrestrial bipedal, Miocene hominins, postcranial remains DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-69453/v1 License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Read Full License Page 1/18 Abstract Terrestrial bipedal locomotion is one of the key adaptations deƒning the hominin clade. Evidences of undisputed bipedalism are known from postcranial remains of late Miocene hominins as soon as 6 Ma in eastern Africa. Bipedality of Sahelanthropus tchadensis was hitherto documented at 7 Ma in central Africa (Chad) by cranial evidence. Here, we present the ƒrst postcranial evidence of the locomotor behavior of the Chadian hominin with new insights on bipedalism at the early stage of our evolutionary history. The original material was discovered at locality TM 266 (Toros-Menalla fossiliferous area), and consists in one left femur and two antimeric ulnae. These new ƒndings conƒrm that hominins were already terrestrial biped relatively soon after the human-chimpanzee divergence but also suggest that careful climbing arboreal behaviors was still a signiƒcant part of their locomotor repertoire.
    [Show full text]
  • Title Kenyapithecus Postcranial Specimens from Nachola, Kenya
    Title Kenyapithecus Postcranial Specimens from Nachola, Kenya Author(s) ROSE, Micael D.; NAKANO, Yoshihiko; ISHIDA, Hidemi African study monographs. Supplementary issue (1996), 24: 3- Citation 56 Issue Date 1996-12 URL https://doi.org/10.14989/68384 Right Type Journal Article Textversion publisher Kyoto University African Study Monographs, Suppl. 24: 3-56, December 1996 3 KENYAPITHECUS POSTCRANIAL SPECIMENS FROM NACHOLA, KENYA Michael D. Rose Department ofAnatomy, Cell Biology and Injury Sciences, New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Yoshihiko Nakano Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Human Sciences, Osaka University Hidemi Ishida Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Department of Zoology, Kyoto University ABSTRACT Twenty nine postcranial specimens of a Kenyapithecus species, discovered at Nachola during the field seasons 1984 and 1986, are described in detail. The specimens come from baboon-sized animals, with a baboon-like degree of sexual dimorphism in size. This spe­ cies of Kenyapithecus was a predominantly arboreal anilnal, utilizing a combination of pronog­ rade quadrupedalism and orthograde climbing and clalnbering activities. Postcranially it most resembles Proconsul, but it is a slightly lnore derived hominoid. Key Words: Hominoid, Kenya, Kenyapithecus, Miocene, Nachola, postcranials. INTRODUCTION The specimens described here were all collected in the years 1984 and 1986 by a joint Japan-Kenya Expedition directed by H. Ishida. The specimens come from the Nachola area of northern Kenya. Numerous specimens of the medium-sized Kenyapithecus have been recovered from Nachola, together with specimens of a small hominoid (Kunimatsu, 1992a, 1992b). These specimens have been recovered from localities that have been variably dated at 11-12 Ma (Matsuda et al., 1984, 1986), 13-15 Ma (Itaya and Sawada, 1986), and 16-17 Ma (Pickford et al., 1986).
    [Show full text]
  • A New Late Miocene Great Ape from Kenya and Its Implications for the Origins of African Great Apes and Humans
    A new Late Miocene great ape from Kenya and its implications for the origins of African great apes and humans Yutaka Kunimatsua,b, Masato Nakatsukasac, Yoshihiro Sawadad, Tetsuya Sakaid, Masayuki Hyodoe, Hironobu Hyodof, Tetsumaru Itayaf, Hideo Nakayag, Haruo Saegusah, Arnaud Mazurieri, Mototaka Saneyoshij, Hiroshi Tsujikawak, Ayumi Yamamotoa, and Emma Mbual aPrimate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Aichi 484-8506, Japan; cGraduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan; dFaculty of Science and Engineering, Shimane University, Shimane 690-8504, Japan; eResearch Center for Inland Seas, Kobe University, Kobe 657-8501, Japan; fResearch Institute of Natural Sciences, Okayama University of Science, Okayama 700-0005, Japan; gFaculty of Science, Kagoshima University, Korimoto 1-21-35, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan; hInstitute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo, Sanda 669-1546, Japan; iE´ tudes Recherches Mate´riaux, 86022 Poitiers, France; jHayashibara Natural History Museum, Okayama 700-0907, Japan; kSchool of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; and lDepartment of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40658-00100, Nairobi, Kenya Edited by Alan Walker, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, and approved October 3, 2007 (received for review July 1, 2007) Extant African great apes and humans are thought to have di- (16, 17), in size and some morphological features, but a number verged from each other in the Late Miocene. However, few of differences lead us to assign the Nakali material to a different hominoid fossils are known from Africa during this period. Here we new genus. Nakalipithecus nakayamai and the associated primate describe a new genus of great ape (Nakalipithecus nakayamai gen.
    [Show full text]
  • Supporting Information
    Supporting Information Moya` -Sola` et al. 10.1073/pnas.0811730106 SI Text netic relationships between all these taxa by classifying them all Systematic Framework. In Table S1 we provide a systematic into a single family Afropithecidae with 2 subfamilies (Keny- classification of living and fossil Hominoidea to the tribe level, apithecinae and Afropithecinae). by further including extant taxa and extinct genera discussed in The systematic scheme used here requires several nomencla- this paper. Hominoidea are defined as the group constituted by tural decisions, which deserve further explanation. The nomina Hylobatidae and Hominidae, plus all extinct taxa more closely Kenyapithecini and Kenyapithecinae are adopted instead of related to them than to Cercopithecoidea. Hominidae, in turn, Griphopithecinae and Griphopithecini (see also ref. 25) merely are defined as the group containing Ponginae and Homininae, because the former have priority. It is unclear why neither Begun plus all extinct forms more closely related to them than to (1) nor Kelley (2) specify the authorship of Griphopithecinae (or Hylobatidae. While this broad concept of Hominidae is currently Griphopithecidae), but, to our knowledge, the authorship of the used by many paleoprimatologists (e.g., refs. 1–2), the systematic latter nomina must be attributed to Begun (ref. 4, p. 232: Table position of primitive (or archaic) putative hominoids is far from 10.1), which therefore do not have priority over Kenyapithecinae clear (see below). Begun (3–5) employs the terms ‘‘Eohomi- Andrews, 1992. Griphopithecinae thus remains potentially valid noidea’’ and ‘‘Euhominoidea’’ to informally refer to hominoids only if Kenyapithecus (and Afropithecus, see below) are excluded of primitive and modern aspect, respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • Origins of the African Hominoids: an Assessment of the Palaeobiogeographical Evidence
    C. R. Palevol 3 (2004) 323–340 Human Paleontology and Prehistory (Paleoanthropology) Origins of the African hominoids: an assessment of the palaeobiogeographical evidence Susanne M. Cote Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Received 29 September 2003; accepted after revision 29 March 2004 Written on invitation of the Editorial Board Abstract The origin of the African hominoid clade is a matter of current debate, with one hypothesis proposing that chimpanzees, humans, and gorillas originated in tropical Africa, while another suggests they originated in Eurasia. Support for the latter hypothesis includes biogeographical patterns inferred from the fossil record and proposed Miocene hominoid phylogenetic relationships. The absence of fossil apes from the African Late Miocene has been used as evidence that crown hominoids were not present in Africa during this period. An alternative explanation for the paucity of these hominoids is that biases in collection and preservation have affected the African Miocene fossil record. A survey of currently known African Later Miocene sites and their faunas shows that these sites generally do not contain hominoids because of small sample sizes, poor preservation, or inappropriate habitat sampling. These preservation biases have important implications for evaluating the origins of the Homininae. To cite this article: S.M. Cote, C. R. Palevol 3 (2004). © 2004 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved. Résumé Les origines des hominoïdes africains : évaluation des faits paléobiogéographiques. L’origine géographique du clade des hominoïdes africains est couramment débattue, les hypothèses suggérant d’une part l’Afrique tropicale, d’autre part l’Eurasie, pour l’origine des gorilles, des chimpanzés et des humains.
    [Show full text]
  • Taxonomy of Proconsul: an Issue of Species
    TAXONOMY OF PROCONSUL: AN ISSUE OF SPECIES NUMBERS OR SEXUAL DIMORPHISM? HUGH WEAVER Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Philosophy October 2015 Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience University of Melbourne ABSTRACT I have investigated the alpha taxonomy of Miocene primate genus Proconsul by performing measurements on photographs of fossil dental material obtained from museum sources. My aim was to assess levels of variation, and thereby evidence for sympatric species, by comparing results with those obtained from sex-matched samples of extant hominoids. The holotype of the initial species described, Proconsul africanus, came from a mainland site in western Kenya. Additional examples of the genus were obtained subsequently from adjacent sites and from islands within Lake Victoria. By 1951, three species of progressively-increasing size were recognised, seemingly present at both island and mainland localities. However, subsequent investigations questioned whether, instead of two sympatric species at a particular site, particularly Rusinga Island, size disparities noted reflected the presence of a single sexually dimorphic species. I addressed this debate by comparing results of measurements of 144 Proconsul specimens with those from sex-matched samples comprising 50 specimens each of four extant primate genera: Pan, Gorilla, Pongo and Hylobates/Symphalangus. The protocol consisted of measuring occlusal views of adult molars to obtain linear measurements and cusp areas. By selecting samples on a 1:1 sex-matched basis for extant groups, and matching these against those for Proconsul, I minimised the potential that variations within the Proconsul material reflected sexual dimorphism within one species. I have investigated the situation relevant to each of two clusters of primate fossil sites, respectively on Rusinga and Mfangano Islands (Area 1) and at mainland sites around Koru (Area 2).
    [Show full text]