A functional multivariate analysis of Mesopithecus (Primates: Colobinae) humeri from the Turolian of Greece |
| |
Authors: | Youlatos Dionisios Couette Sébastien Koufos George D |
| |
Institution: | a Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Biology, Department of Zoology, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece b Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7207 - Centre de Recherche sur la Paléobiodiversité & les Paléoenvironnements et Laboratoire d'Evolution des Primates de l'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, 8 rue Buffon - CP 38, F-75005 Paris, France c Université de Bourgogne, Laboratoire EPHE “Paléobiodiversité et évolution”, UMR CNRS 6282 “Biogéosciences”, 6 bd Gabriel, F-21000 Dijon, France d Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Geology, Laboratory of Geology and Palaeontology, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece |
| |
Abstract: | The genus Mesopithecus is well represented in the late Miocene of Greece by several recognized species. The present paper investigates functional aspects of the humeri of Mesopithecus delsoni/pentelicus, M. pentelicus and M. aff. pentelicus of several Turolian sites from central and northern Greece, using multivariate approaches. For these purposes, we selected significant humeral functional features, which were represented by 23 linear dimensions and three angles on 14 fossil humeri and 104 humeri from 10 genera and 22 species of extant African and Asian Colobines. All size-adjusted measurements were examined through a principal components analysis, followed by a discriminant function analysis, and a canonical variates analysis. All analyses revealed that the selected characters were able to discriminate between extant colobine genera. Functional groups, such as arboreal walking/climbing, arboreal walking/suspensory and semi-terrestrial walking, were set apart from a central cluster formed by the arboreal walking and arboreal walking/terrestrial groups. This cluster also grouped the three studied Mesopithecus species, which were mainly classified as arboreal walkers with significant terrestrial activities. These observations match with paleoenvironmental reconstructions and the suggested opportunistic feeding habits. Moreover, the overall arboreal/terrestrial locomotor tendencies of these fossil forms are discussed in relation to their earlier migration from Africa and later dispersal to eastern and southern Asia. |
| |
Keywords: | Locomotion Arboreality Terrestriality Miocene Vathylakkos Pikermi |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|