Mandible of Ouranopithecus macedoniensis (Hominidae,primates) from a new late Miocene locality of Macedonia (Greece)

In 1990, a new late Miocene locality named “Nikiti 1” or NKT, was discovered near the village of Nikiti (Chalkidiki, Macedonia, Greece) about 100 km east of Thessaloniki City. The locality is situated in the Nikiti Formation, which consists of yellowish sands, gravels and pebbles and has been dated to late Vallesian–early Turolian. Among the initially collected fossils there is a mandible of a hominoid primate, which is described, compared, and attributed to Ouranopithecus macedoniensis. A short review of the species in Macedonia and its phylogenetic relationships are also given. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The anatomy and systematic position of the early Miocene proconsulid from Meswa Bridge, Kenya

A small collection of fossil catarrhines was recovered from the early Miocene locality of Meswa Bridge in western Kenya between 1978 and 1980. The associated fauna from Meswa Bridge indicates an age older than 20 Ma. Much of the material has been briefly described previously, and its taxonomic status considered. The material can be assigned to a minimum of four individuals, all of which are infants or juveniles. Although the specimens were shown to belong to a distinct species of Proconsul, the taxon was not named, primarily because many of the specimens belonged to immature individuals. Nevertheless, the combined morphological features of the deciduous and permanent teeth allow the diagnosis of a new species of Proconsul, which is formally named here as P. meswae. It is a large-sized species, similar in dental size to P. nyanzae. The main features distinguishing it from all other previously named species of Proconsul are: incisors and deciduous incisors relatively low crowned; upper deciduous canines relatively higher crowned and more robust; molars and deciduous premolars relatively broader and higher crowned, with a more pronounced degree of buccolingual flare and better developed cingula; size differential between molars not as marked; dP₄ with a longer mesial fovea and smaller hypoconulid and distal fovea; P₄ relatively broader, with a better developed buccal cingulum; lower molars less rectangular with a longer mesial fovea, smaller distal fovea, more restricted talonid basin, and a tendency for a smaller hypoconulid; dP⁴ and upper molars with strongly buccolingually splayed roots; mandibular corpus in infants relatively deeper and more slender; maxilla with a well developed canine jugum and fossa. The broader and more flared molars with better developed cingula indicate that the Meswa Bridge species is more primitive than other species of Proconsul. The inference that it is a stem member of the Proconsul clade is consistent with the estimated age of the material.     

The Late Miocene hominoids Ouranopithecus and Graecopithecus. Implications about their relationships and taxonomy

Two Late Miocene hominoids are known from Greece. The first, Graecopithecus freybergi, is known by a single mandible with the worn m2 from the locality of Pyrgos Vassilissis, near Athens. The other, Ouranopithecus macedoniensis, is known from Axios Valley and Chalkidiki (Macedonia, Greece) by a partial skull and a set of maxillary and mandibular remains. Some authors consider these two hominoids as synonyms and in the present article a detailed comparison of them is given. The morphology and size of the symphysis, the more robust mandible, the more open dental arcade of Ouranopithecus distinguishes it clearly from Graecopithecus. Moreover, the incompleteness of the mandible of Graecopithecus with the doubtful morphology and size, the limited material and the uncertain geological age of the locality cannot allow precise and clear comparisons with the rest extant and extinct hominoids. Thus in our opinion there are not enough data to support the similarity, and therefore, the synonymy of the two genera. The Pyrgos mandible must remain as a separate and isolated genus with one species, which only includes this sole mandible.     

New material of Ouranopithecus macedoniensis from late Miocene of Macedonia (Greece) and study of its dental attrition

During the last five years our continued excavations in the known late Miocene mammal localities of Macedonia (Greece) provided several new specimens of the hominoid primate Ouranopithecus macedoniensis. This new material includes maxillary and mandibular remains and it is described and compared to the old material of Ouranopithecus in the present article. The material of Ouranopithecus from the three known localities “Ravin de la Pluie” (RPl), “Xirochori 1” (XIR) and “Nikiti 1” (NKT) includes a complete series of tooth rows representing all wearing stages. Thus, the study of the dental wear of Ouranopithecus upper and lower teeth is studied and compared to that of the recent hominoids Gorilla and Pan, as well as to Australopithecus afarensis. The latter species is well known by a series of tooth rows of different wearing stages. The canine’s attrition of Ouranopithecus has a more derived pattern than that of the recent hominoids (Gorilla and Pan) and less derived than A. afarensis. The p3 of Ouranopithecus has similar attrition to that of A. afarensis, the attrition of the molars in Ouranopithecus, A. afarensis and Pan follows a similar pattern, while in Gorilla it is different.     

Three-dimensional analysis of mandibular dental root morphology in hominoids

Although often preserved in the fossil record, mandibular dental roots are rarely used for evolutionary studies. This study qualitatively and quantitatively characterizes the three-dimensional morphology of hominoid dental roots. The sample comprises extant apes as well as two fossil species, Khoratpithecus piriyai and Ouranopithecus macedoniensis. The morphological differences between extant genera are observed, quantified and tested for their potential in systematics. Dental roots are imaged using X-ray computerized tomography, conventional microtomography and synchrotron microtomography. Resulting data attest to the high association between taxonomy and tooth root morphology, both qualitatively and quantitatively. A cladistic analysis based on the dental root characters resulted in a tree topology congruent with the consensus phylogeny of hominoids, suggesting that tooth roots might provide useful information in reconstructing hominoid phylogeny. Finally, the evolution of the dental root morphology in apes is discussed.     

A new protictithere from the late Miocene hominoid locality Ravin de la Pluie of Axios Valley (Macedonia, Greece)

This article concerns the study of a protictithere from the late Miocene of Axios Valley (Macedonia, Greece). The material was found in the hominoid-bearing mammal locality Ravin de la Pluie (RPl), which is corellated with the late Vallesian, MN 10. The available material, including maxillary and mandibular elements, is described and compared morphologically and metrically with the known Eurasian protictitheres. The small size, the low cusps(-ids) of the teeth, the protocone of the P4, which is in line with the mesial border of the parastyle, the large molars (especially the M2), the small buccal projection of the M1 paracone, the strongly molarized p4, the strong metaconid and large talonid with high entoconid of the m1 separate the RPl protictithere from the known Eurasian protictitheres and allow the erection of a new species, named P. thessalonikensis n. sp.     

New material of Chalicotheriidae (Perissodactyla,Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of Axios Valley,Macedonia (Greece) with the description of a new species

Chalicotheriids are rare in the late Miocene mammal localities of Axios Valley, Macedonia (Greece). The new campaign of excavations, since 1972, has provided some specimens, which are studied in this article. They are coming from two different localities. The late early Vallesian locality of Pentalophos 1 (PNT) has provided a skull and a mandible of an Ancylotherium. The morphological characters of the PNT material as the small size, the long snout, the shallow mandibular corpus, the strong cingulum in the teeth, the short tooth rows and the short M3/m3 indicate that it differs from the known Turolian species A. pentelicum and allow the erection of a new species, named Ancylotherium hellenicum n. sp., which can be used as a biostratigraphic marker of the Vallesian. The middle Turolian locality Prochoma 1 (PXM) has provided only one M3, which is determined to the chalicotheriine Anisodon macedonicus. This species was earlier described from the middle Turolian locality Vathylakkos 3 (VAT) and the late Turolian one of Dytiko 3 (DKO) of Axios Valley. The biogeography and biostratigraphy of the late Miocene chalicotheres of the Greco-Iranian Palaeoprovince (GRIP), as well as their palaeoecology are also discussed. The common chalicothere of GRIP is A. pentelicum, expanded from the Balkans to Afganistan and ranging stratigraphically from the early to the late Turolian. Chalicotherium goldfussi is certainly present in GRIP and it also ranges from the early to the late Turolian; its possible Vallesian occurrence needs confirmation. The other two late Miocene chalicotheres of GRIP A. macedonicus and Kalimantsia bulgarica are restricted to the Turolian of the Balkan Peninsula.     

Additional mandibles of Rangwapithecus gordoni,an early Miocene catarrhine from the Tinderet localities of Western Kenya

Two catarrhine mandibles and five isolated teeth have been discovered from Early Miocene localities in Western Kenya. One mandible comes from the well‐known locality of Songhor whereas the other is from a newly discovered locality, Lower Kapurtay, located near Songhor. The mandibles both can clearly be assigned to the species Rangwapithecus gordoni based on molar morphology, which is unique among Early Miocene catarrhines. The isolated specimens can be assigned to Rangwapithecus based on their similarities in morphology to the homologues preserved in the two mandibles. These specimens provide important new information about the dentognathic morphology of Rangwapithecus, which is described in detail. The mandible from Songhor (KNM‐SO 22228) represents the first definitive female mandible of Rangwapithecus. The Lower Kapurtay mandible (KNM‐KT 31234) appears to be male but is much smaller than another recently described male mandible of this species (KNM‐SO 17500) and the type maxilla (KNM‐SO 700). These specimens enable a reassessment of the attributions of all other mandibles and isolated lower teeth of Rangwapithecus, and we present a complete hypodigm of the mandibular and lower dental material for the species. Finally, we provide some additions to the diagnosis of Rangwapithecus gordoni based on previously unknown morphology. Am J Phys Anthropol 153:341–352, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The deciduous lower dentition of Ouranopithecus macedoniensis (Primates, Hominoidea) from the late Miocene deposits of Macedonia, Greece

Two mandibular fragments with associated milk teeth assigned to the late Miocene hominoid primate Ouranopithecus macedoniensis are analyzed. The fossils, which belong to a single individual, were found in the Vallesian locality of "Ravin de la Pluie" of the Axios Valley (Macedonia, Greece). The material is described here and compared with extant and extinct hominoids, allowing assessment of the evolutionary trends in the deciduous lower dentition within the Hominoidea. Hylobatids represent the more primitive pattern. Gorilla is slightly more derived than hylobatids, but less derived than Pongo and Pan, the latter being the most derived. With relatively smaller deciduous canines and more molarized deciduous premolars, Ouranopithecus is more derived than both Pan and Gorilla. Among the fossil hominoids, Proconsul, representing the primitive condition, has a very simple dp(3)and a dp(4)that has a trigonid that is taller than the talonid and which lacks a hypoconulid. Griphopithecus is more derived than Proconsul in having a dp(4) with a lower trigonid, a hypoconulid, and a less oblique cristid obliqua. Australopithecus and Paranthropus possess a similar morphology to that of Homo, while Ardipithecus appears to be more primitive than the latter genera. Ouranopithecus has a more derived lower milk dentition than Proconsul and Griphopithecus, but less derived than Australopithecus and Paranthropus. The comparison of the lower milk dentition of Ouranopithecus confirms our previous conclusions suggesting that this fossil hominoid shares derived characters with Australopithecus and Homo.     

A goose-sized anseriform bird from the late Oligocene of France: the youngest record and largest species of Romainvilliinae

We describe a new anseriform bird from the late Oligocene of Saint-André, Marseille, in southern France. Saintandrea chenoides, gen. et sp. nov. is the first avian species reported from the locality, which is well known for its mammalian fossils. The new species belongs to the extinct Romainvilliinae and represents the latest occurrence of the taxon, which was before only known from the late Eocene and early Oligocene of Europe. S. chenoides is also the largest species of Romainvilliinae and increases the known morphological diversity of the taxon. The identification of a goose-sized representative of the Romainvilliinae in the late Oligocene of Europe raises the possibility that some of the large late Paleogene or early Neogene Anseriformes with uncertain phylogenetic affinities also belong to this taxon.     

Brachypotherium (Perissodactyla,Rhinocerotidae) from the late Miocene of Samburu Hills,Kenya

Several isolated cheek teeth and mandibular specimens of Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the upper Miocene Namurungule Formation in Samburu Hills, Kenya, are redescribed. Previously, these specimens had been identified as Chilotheridium pattersoni, Chilotheridium sp., Paradiceros mukirii, and Paradiceros sp. They are reidentified here as documenting the genus Brachypotherium based on their bucco-lingually broad molariform upper premolars with short crochet and flattened buccal walls on both upper and lower molars, the latter having a shallow external groove. Comparisons with other Brachypotherium species suggest that the present specimens belong to Brachypotherium sp. cf. B. minor. The presence of Brachypotherium in the Samburu Hills, at ca. 9.5 Ma, is concordant with the paleoenvironment (presence of lacustrine and river environments) known for this locality during the early late Miocene.     

Sex at Sterkfontein: 'Mrs. Ples' is still an adult female

The important question of whether the Australopithecus africanus hypodigm is taxonomically heterogeneous revolves largely around the interpretation of the morphological variation exhibited by the fossils from Sterkfontein. The sex assignment of these specimens is a critical component in the evaluation of their morphological variability. The Sts 5 cranium is pivotal in this regard because it is the most complete and undistorted specimen attributed to A. africanus. Although it has traditionally been regarded as an adult female, this view has been challenged. In particular, it has been argued recently that Sts 5 is a juvenile and that this, together with alveolar bone loss that has supposedly reduced the size of the canine socket, has led to its misinterpretation as a female. Virtual reconstruction of the M³ roots (and/or alveoli) contradicts arguments that these teeth were erupting at the time of death. Regardless, canine emergence and root completion are well ahead of M³ development in juvenile australopiths from Sterkfontein. Thus, even if the M³ root of Sts 5 was incomplete, its canine root would have been fully formed. Measurements of palate depth indicate that the alveolar margins of Sts 5 have not suffered from much (if any) bone loss in the region of the C/P³; any additional bone would result in a palate of truly exceptional depth. Therefore, the dimensions of the canine alveolus of Sts 5 can be regarded as proxies for those of the canine root. The canine root of Sts 5 is among the smallest recorded for any Sterkfontein australopith, which provides strong support for Robert Broom's initial attribution of sex to this specimen. There is no evidence to contradict the assertion that ‘Mrs. Ples’ is an adult female.     

New remains of Egatochoerus jaegeri (Mammalia,Suoidea) from the late Eocene of Peninsular Thailand

Abstract: We report here additional remains referred to Egatochoerus jaegeri from the late Eocene locality of Ban Mark in the Krabi basin, Thailand. The new material described, comprising upper and lower cheek teeth, deciduous premolars and partial cranial remains, makes E. jaegeri the best‐documented Eocene representative of Old World Suoidea at present. Detailed study and comparison of their cheek teeth structure reveal a homogeneity of the molar crest and groove patterns of Old World and New World Palaeogene suoids.     

Metrical dental analysis on golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana)

Dental variation in the Chinese golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is here evaluated by univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. Allometric analyses indicate that canines and P3s are positively, but other dimensions negatively scaled to mandible and maxilla, and to body size. With the exception of the mesiodistal dimensions of I₁ and M₃, and the buccolingual dimension of P₄, mandibular dental variables show similar scaling relative to body size. Analysis of residuals shows that males have significantly larger canine, P³ and buccolingual dimensions of the postcanine teeth (M² and M³) than females. A significant difference in shape between the sexes is found in the buccolingual dimension of the upper teeth, but not in the mandible. Unlike the situation in some other species, female golden monkeys do not exhibit relatively larger postcanine teeth than males. In fact, the reverse is true, expecially for M²s and M³s. The fact that most of the dental variables show low negative allometry to body size might be related a cold environment that has led to the development of larger body size with reduced energy loss. When the raw data are examined by Discriminant Function Analysis the sexes are clearly distinguishable.     

Early Cretaceous mammals of Western Siberia: 2. Tegotheriidae

New specimens of the tegotheriid docodont Sibirotherium rossicum Maschenko et al., 2003, including a maxillary fragment with two posterior teeth, an isolated upper molar, and mandibular fragments with teeth from the Early Cretaceous Shestakovo locality are described. The dental formula of Sibirotherium is I_{1 + ?}C1P₆M_6?. The upper molars of Sibirotherium, with two main labial and three lingual cusps, are convergently similar to the molars of tribosphenic mammals. In the dentary, the symphysis is short and Meckel’s groove is reduced. Sibirotherium is similar in the structure of lower teeth to Tegotherium from the Upper Jurassic of Mongolia; it is the latest known representative of Docodonta.     

Metric variation and sexual dimorphism in the dentition of Ouranopithecus macedoniensis

The fossil sample attributed to the late Miocene hominoid taxon Ouranopithecus macedoniensis is characterized by a high degree of dental metric variation. As a result, some researchers support a multiple-species taxonomy for this sample. Other researchers do not think that the sample variation is too great to be accommodated within one species. This study examines variation and sexual dimorphism in mandibular canine and postcanine dental metrics of an Ouranopithecus sample. Bootstrapping (resampling with replacement) of extant hominoid dental metric data is performed to test the hypothesis that the coefficients of variation (CV) and the indices of sexual dimorphism (ISD) of the fossil sample are not significantly different from those of modern great apes. Variation and sexual dimorphism in Ouranopithecus M(1) dimensions were statistically different from those of all extant ape samples; however, most of the dental metrics of Ouranopithecus were neither more variable nor more sexually dimorphic than those of Gorilla and Pongo. Similarly high levels of mandibular molar variation are known to characterize other fossil hominoid species. The Ouranopithecus specimens are morphologically homogeneous and it is probable that all but one specimen included in this study are from a single population. It is unlikely that the sample includes specimens of two sympatric large-bodied hominoid species. For these reasons, a single-species hypothesis is not rejected for the Ouranopithecus macedoniensis material. Correlations between mandibular first molar tooth size dimorphism and body size dimorphism indicate that O. macedoniensis and other extinct hominoids were more sexually size dimorphic than any living great apes, which suggests that social behaviors and life history profiles of these species may have been different from those of living species.     

Description of a new species of Gastornis (Aves,Gastornithiformes) from the early Eocene of La Borie,southwestern France

The early Eocene locality of La Borie is located near the village of Saint-Papoul, in southwestern France. It consists of clay deposits that have yielded numerous vertebrate fossils, including remains of the giant flightless bird Gastornis. These remains were initially attributed to the species G. parisiensis, which is otherwise recorded from the late Paleocene and earliest Eocene of the North Sea Basin. New fossil birds collected in the La Borie clay pit in 2018 include an almost complete mandible of Gastornis. We describe a new species of Gastornis based on this mandible and we show that the previously described remains from La Borie must be assigned to this new species. The new species differs from other species of Gastornis in the morphology of the mandible, maxilla and quadrate. The morphological diversity of the genus Gastornis, which existed in Europe for at least 17 million years, is emphasized.LSID of publication: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:10E7938B-C972-4127-94DC-169D35977B11.     

A review of Semigenetta (Viverridae,Carnivora) from the Miocene of Eurasia based on material from the hominid locality of Hammerschmiede (Germany)

The present article offers a detailed review of the taxonomy, distribution and palaeoecology of the genus Semigenetta. The study is based on new craniodental and postcranial remains of the genus from the early late Miocene (Tortonian) locality of Hammerschmiede (Bavaria, Germany). Most of the new specimens are attributed to the medium-sized species Semigenetta sansaniensis, whereas one lower carnassial is assigned to the large-sized Semigenetta grandis, making Hammerschmiede 4 the first known locality with two species of the genus. The variability of the material of S. sansaniensis from Europe allows us to revise the taxonomic weight of some previously used characters, and to identify the smaller-sized late Miocene form Semigenetta ripolli as a junior synonym of the former. Such an evolutionary transition of S. sansaniensis towards smaller forms is explained by niche partitioning with larger carnivorans of similar ecology, such as the herein reported S. grandis. Additionally, the species Semigenetta huaiheensis is here considered as a junior synonym of Semigenetta elegans.     

New dental remains of Anoiapithecus and the first appearance datum of hominoids in the Iberian Peninsula

New dental remains of the fossil great ape Anoiapithecus brevirostris are described from the Middle Miocene local stratigraphic series of Abocador de Can Mata (ACM) in els Hostalets de Pierola (Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula). These specimens correspond to maxillary fragments with upper teeth from two female individuals from two different localities: left P³–M¹ (IPS41712) from ACM/C3-Aj (type locality; 11.9 Ma [millions of years ago]); and right M¹–M² and left P⁴–M² (IPS35027) from ACM/C1-E* (12.3–12.2 Ma). Relative enamel thickness is also computed in the latter individual and re-evaluated in other Middle Miocene hominoids from ACM, in order to better assess their taxonomic affinities. With regard to maxillary sinus development, occlusal morphology, molar proportions and enamel thickness, the new specimens show greater resemblances with the (male) holotype specimen of A. brevirostris. They differ from Pierolapithecus catalaunicus in displaying less inflated crests, a more lingually-located hypocone, and relatively lower-crowned molars; from Dryopithecus fontani, in the relatively thicker enamel and lower-crowned molars; from Hispanopithecus spp., in the more inflated crown bases, less peripheral cusps and more restricted maxillary sinus; and from Hispanopithecus laietanus also in the thicker crests, more restricted occlusal foveae, and relatively lower-crowned molars. The new specimens of A. brevirostris show some slight differences compared with the holotype of this species: smaller size (presumably due to sexual size dimorphism), and less distally-tapering M² occlusal contour (which is highly variable in both extant and extinct hominoids). The reported remains provide valuable new evidence on dental intraspecific variation and sexual dimorphism in Anoiapithecus. From a taxonomic viewpoint, they support the distinction of this taxon from both Dryopithecus and Pierolapithecus. From a chronostratigraphic perspective, IPS35027 from ACM/C1-E* enlarges the known temporal distribution of Anoiapithecus, further representing the oldest record (first appearance datum) of hominoids in the Iberian Peninsula.