Overview of the Fossil Primates

1
Chapter 9

• Overview of the Fossil Primates

2
Chapter Outline

• Introduction
• Primate Origins
• Paleocene Primate-like Mammals
• Eocene Primates
• Oligocene Primates
• Miocene Primates

3
Orthograde

• An upright body position.
• This term relates to the position of the head and
  torso during sitting, climbing, etc., and doesnt
  necessarily mean an animal is bipedal.

4
Archonta

• The superorder designated the sister orders of
  tree shrews, flying lemurs, plesiadapiforms, and
  primates.

5
Map Showing Location of the Fossil Primates
6
Map Showing Location of the Fossil Primates
7
Archonta

• The superorder designated for thesister orders
  of tree shrews, flying lemurs,plesiadapiforms,
  and primates.

8
Seven Epochs of the Cenozoic

• Paleocene (65 mya primate-like mammals, aka
  Plesiadapiformes)
• Eocene (55.8 mya first true primates,
  Prosimians)
• Oligocene (33 mya early Catarrhines, precursors
  to monkeys and apes, emerge)
• Miocene (23 mya monkeys and apes emerge, first
  humanlike creatures appear)

9
Seven Epochs of the Cenozoic

• Pliocene (5.3 mya early humans diversify)
• Pleistocene (1.8 mya early Homo develops)
• Holocene (0.01 mya the present epoch)

10
Last Common Ancestor (LCA)

• The final evolutionary link between two related
  groups.

11
Question

• Monkeys, apes and the first humanlike creatures
  appeared during the
• Pliocene.
• Eocene.
• Paleocene.
• Miocene.

12
Answer d

• Monkeys, apes and the first humanlike creatures
  appeared during the Miocene.

13
Carpolestes

• Nearly complete skeleton of Carpolestes
  discovered in the Clarks Fork Basin of Wyoming.
  (a) Carpolestes as it was discovered. (b)
  Reconstructed skeleton (c) Artists rendering.

14
Eocene Primates

• Fossil primates from the Eocene display
  distinctive primate features.
• Looking at the whole array of Eocene primates, it
  is certain that they were
• Primates
• Widely distributed
• Mostly extinct by the end of the Eocene.

15
Teilhardina

• (a) View of the skull of Teilhardina from the
  top.
• (b) An artists reconstruction of Teilhardina,
  with areas in gray representing missing fragments.

16
Teilhardina

• The rapid westward dispersal of euprimates of the
  genus Teilhardina.

17
Early Eocene Primates Features

• Chinese fossils dating from the early Eocene
  (5545 m.y.a.) have three interesting features
• Forward rotation of the eyes makes them distinct
  from the lemur-loris lineage.
• The cranium shows small eye sockets, suggesting
  they may have been diurnal.
• They were all apparently extremely small,
  weighing less than 1 ounce.

18
Amphipithecids

• The teeth of the amphipithecids are misleading,
  but the mandibles betray their phylogenetic
  affinity as lower primates.

19
Convergent Evolution

• An example of convergent evolution the skull of
  Archaeolemur (left) and a macaque monkey.
• Note how the lemur resembles the monkey in the
  shape of the jaw, teeth, and overall cranial form.

20
Subfossil

• Bone not old enough to have become completely
  mineralized as a fossil.

21
Bilophodonty

• Molars that have 4 cusps, oriented in 2 parallel
  rows, that resemble ridges or lophs.
• This is characteristic of Old World Monkeys.

22
Paleoprimatologist

• A person who specializes in the study of the
  nonhuman primate fossil record.

23
General Prosimian Characteristics

1. Smaller body size.
2. Longer snouts with greater emphasis on smell.
3. Eye sockets not completely enclosed in bone.
4. Dental comb.
5. Small simple premolars.

24
General Prosimian Characteristics

1. Primitive triangle-shaped molars.
2. Grooming claw.
3. Artery running through the middle ear bone.
4. Unfused mandible.
5. Unfused frontal bone.
6. Smaller brain size relative to body size.

25
General Anthropoid Characteristics

1. Generally larger body size
2. Shorter snouts with greater emphasis on vision
3. Back of eye socket formed by bony plate
4. Less specialized dentition, as seen in absence of
   dental comb and some other features
5. Larger and more complex premolars
6. Derived square-shaped molars with new cusp

26
General Anthropoid Characteristics

1. Nails instead of claws on all digits
2. Loss of the artery running through the middle ear
   bone
3. Fusion of the two sides of the mandible to form
   one bone
4. Fusion of the two sides of the frontal bone
5. Larger brain (in absolute terms and relative to
   body weight)

27
Catopithecus

• Three specimens of Catopithecus the
  earliestanthropoid genus to preserve a skull.
• These give us our first view of early catarrhine
  cranial anatomy including fully enclosed orbits.

28
Oligocene Primates

• The Oligocene (3423 m.y.a.) yielded fossil
  remains of several species of early anthropoids.
• By the early Oligocene, continental drift had
  separated the New World from the Old World.
• It has been suggested that late in the Eocene or
  very early in the Oligocene, the first
  anthropoids arose in Africa and reached South
  America by rafting over the water separation on
  drifting chunks of vegetation.

29
Phyletic Relationships of Fayum Early Anthropoids
and Living Catarrhines
30
Parapithecus

• Parapithecus belongs to the group of Fayum
  anthropoids that are most closely related to the
  ancestry of New World monkeys.

31
Aegyptopithecus

• Skull of Aegyptopithecus.
• This genus has been proposed as the ancestor of
  both Old World monkeys and hominoids.

32
Homunculus

• Skull of Homunculus, a middle Miocene descendant
  of the earliest platyrrhine radiation.

33
Question

• The majority of Old World primate fossils of the
  Oligocene epoch (33-24 m.y.a) come from
• China.
• the Fayum Depression in Egypt.
• East Africa.
• the Arabian Peninsula.

34
Answer b

• The majority of Old World primate fossils of the
  Oligocene epoch (33-24 m.y.a) come from the Fayum
  Depression in Egypt.

35
Cladogram Of Extant Groups of New World Monkeys
36
Continental Relationships During the Late Eocene

• The broken white line and surrounding shades of
  blue represent seafloor spreading, which caused
  continents to drift apart.

37
New World Monkey vs. Old World Monkey
Characteristics

• Old World Monkeys
• Downward facing nostrils
• Tube-like ear hole
• Dental formula of 2.1.2.3
• Ischial callosities
• Distribution Africa, southern Asia and Japan

• New World Monkeys
• Sideways facing nostrils
• Ring-like ear hole with no tube
• Dental formula of 2.1.3.3
• Grasping tail
• Distribution Mexico and South America

38
Sister Group

• Two lineages that diverged from a particular
  common ancestor.
• Since sister groups share a common ancestor, they
  are each others closest relatives.

39
Victoriapithecus

• Skull of Victoriapithecus, the first Old World
  monkey.

40
Theropithecus

• Skull of brumpti, the most bizarre fossil monkey
  (inset).
• An artists rendering of Theropithecus on the
  landscape in the Omo Basin of Ethiopia about 3
  mya.

41
Comparison of Bilophodont Molars

• Comparison of bilophodont molars as found in
  cercopithecoids and Y-5 molars as seen in
  hominoids.
• (a) Notice that the 4 cusps are positioned in 2
  parallel rows or lobes.
• (b) See how the 5 cusps are arranged so that a
  Y-shaped valley runs between them.

42
Y-5 Molar

• Molars that have 5 cusps with grooves running
  between them, forming a Y shape.
• This is characteristic of hominoids.

43
Dental Ape

• An early ape that postcranially resembles a
  monkey, but dentally is hominoid (i.e., has a Y-5
  molar configuration).

44
Diversity of Early Miocene Ape Mandibles

• The shapes and sizes of these mandibles and teeth
  illustrates the adaptive diversity of apes during
  this time.
• They ranged in size from that of a male orangutan
  through half the size of a modern gibbon and ate
  foods as varied as hard roots and soft fruit.

45
Proconsul

• Skull of Proconsul, the best known of the early
  Miocene dental apes.

46
Pliopithecus

• Pliopithecus, from the middle Miocene of Europe.
• The pliopithecoids were the first catarrhines to
  leave Africa.
• Since this skull is of a female, no sagittal
  crest is present, though strong temporal lines
  indicate the individual enjoyed a diet of hard
  plant items.

47
Old World Monkey vs. Ape Characteristics

• Ape
• Broad nose and palate
• Even larger brain
• Y-5 molars
• Larger average body size
• Shorter torso
• Longer arms
• No tail

• Old World Monkey
• Narrow nose and palate
• Smaller brain
• Bilophodont molars
• Smaller average body size
• Longer torso
• Shorter arms
• Tail

48
Dryopithecus

• Skull of Dryopithecus, the earliest European ape.
• The left side is reconstructed as a mirror image
  of the complete right side.

49
Ouranopithecus

• Ouranopithecus, possible ancestor of the African
  apes.
• Notice that the face shares many features with
  living African great apes, including large
  browridges and a wide distance between the eye
  orbits.

50
Sagittal Crest

• A ridge of bone that runs down the middle of the
  cranium like a short Mohawk.
• This serves as the attachment for the large
  temporal muscles, indicating strong chewing.

51
Comparison of Chimpanzee, Sivapithecus and
Orangutan

• Modern chimpanzee (left), Sivapithecus (middle),
  and modern orangutan (right).
• Sivapithecus and the orangutan exhibit a dished
  face, broad cheekbones, and projecting maxilla
  and incisors.

52
Gigantopithecus

• An artists rendering of Gigantopithecus enjoying
  a meal of the tasty, but tough, tropical fruit
  known as durian.

53
Lufengpithecus

• Skull of a Lufengpithecus juvenile from the late
  Miocene of Yunnan Province, China.

54
Biomolecular Primate Family Tree