Pierolapithecus
| Pierolapithecus | ||||||||||
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_a_l%27Institut_Catal%C3%A0_de_Paleontologia_Miquel_Crusafont.JPG)
Live reconstruction of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus in the Instituto de Paleontología Miquel Crusafont in Sabadell . |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||
| middle Miocene | ||||||||||
| 13.0 to 12.5 million years | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Pierolapithecus | ||||||||||
| Moyà-Solà , Köhler , Alba , Casanovas-Vilar & Galindo , 2004 | ||||||||||
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Pierolapithecus is an extinct genus of primates thatoccurredin Spain during the Middle Miocene around 13 million years agoand isattributedby some authors to the Dryopithecini tribe . The fossils were discovered by the paleontologist Salvador Moyà-Solà - similar to Anoiapithecus - placed in the vicinity of the last common ancestors of all great apes and expressly assigned as a fossil genus to the great apes (Hominidae).
Naming
Pierolapithecus is an artificial word . The name of the genus is derived from the site in the area of Els Hostalets de Pierola in the administrative district of Anoia ( province of Barcelona ), near the Montserrat Mountains , and from Greek πίθηκος, pronounced in ancient Greek píthēkos = "monkey". The epithet of the only scientifically described species so far , Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, refers to the location of the site in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia . Pierolapithecus catalaunicus consequently means "Catalan monkey by Pierola".
Initial description
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As holotype of the species and also the type species was in the first description is a partially obtained, consisting of 83 bone fragments skeleton of an adult male individual reported (VSN IPS-21350), which in the Instituto de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont in Sabadell is kept. The entire facial skull with preserved canines and molars of the upper jaw , fragments of the shoulder blades , arms and legs , two complete and several fragments of the ribs , three vertebrae and small fragments of the pelvis could be assigned to this fossil . The fossil bones were uncovered at the Barranc de Can Vila 1 (BCV1) site.
The researchers dated the Pierolapithecus fossils in 2004 using biostratigraphic analyzes to be 13 to 12.5 million years ago.
Meaning of the finds
With the help of the so-called molecular clock it was calculated that the lineage of orangutans , chimpanzees , gorillas and humans separated from that of the "small great apes" (such as the gibbons ) around the life of Pierolapithecus . Depending on the calibration , this point in time is dated to the Early or Middle Miocene, with a range from 17 to 12 million years ago. Not many meaningful finds of fossil great apes are known from this period; Pierolapithecus catalaunicus was the first well-preserved find from almost 13 million years ago.
As an indication of the proximity of Pierolapithecus to the common ancestor of all great apes, his overall " modern " physique, in particular the flat face without an extended nose, the very flat chest , the shoulder blades facing the back and the shape of the wrists . According to the first description, an almost completely preserved lumbar vertebra also proves the proximity to the great apes. The relatively small bones of the fingers and toes , on the other hand, resemble the comparable bones of the vervet monkey relatives and are therefore original features . From the construction of the hands it was concluded in the first description that Pierolapithecus catalaunicus , unlike today's great apes, seldom - if at all - shimmy beneath branches, but moved like other primeval monkeys on the branches.
The rather thick enamel was interpreted as an adaptation to fiber-rich, hard food.
One year after its first publication, North American paleontologists interpreted the type species of Pierolapithecus after an analysis of 96 of its characteristics as a sister species of Dryopithecus and thus as a close relative only of the African great apes, but not of the orangutans. The main author of the first description, Salvador Moyà-Solà, contradicted this in a study published in 2013. In it, the two relatively small fragments of the basin were described and derived from their nature that the genus should be classified shortly after the splitting off of the great apes from the other primate taxa, but before the splitting off of the orangutans from the other great apes .
Web links
- Illustration of the fossils of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus On: georgehernandez.com
- Reconstruction of the face On: faz.net from December 22, 2014
Individual evidence
- ^ Salvador Moyà-Solà et al .: Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, a New Middle Miocene Great Ape from Spain. In: Science . Volume 306, No. 5700, 2004, pp. 1339-1344, doi: 10.1126 / science.1103094
- ^ David M. Alba et al .: Enamel thickness in the Middle Miocene great apes Anoiapithecus, Pierolapithecus and Dryopithecus. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Online publication of March 24, 2010, doi: 10.1098 / rspb.2010.0218 , full text (PDF)
- ↑ Daniel Demiguel, David M. Alba and Salvador Moyà-Solà: Dietary Specialization during the evolution of Western Eurasian hominoids and the Extinction of European Great Apes. In: PLoS ONE. 9 (5): e97442, 2014, doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0097442
- ↑ David R. Begun and Carol V. Ward: Comment on “Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, a New Middle Miocene Great Ape from Spain”. In: Science. Volume 308, No. 5719, 2005, p. 203, doi: 10.1126 / science.1108139
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↑ Ashley S. Hammond et al .: Middle Miocene Pierolapithecus provides a first glimpse into early hominid pelvic morphology. In: Journal of Human Evolution . Volume 64, No. 6, 2013, pp. 658-666, doi: 10.1016 / j.jhevol.2013.03.002
Fossil of great ape sheds light on evolution. On: eurekalert.org from May 1, 2013