The ecology of oligocene African anthropoidea |
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Authors: | Richard F Kay Elwyn L Simons |
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Institution: | (1) Departments of Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University Medical Center and Duke Primate Center, 27710 Durham, North Carolina |
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Abstract: | African anthropoids are first recorded in Early Oligocene deposits of the Fayum Province, Egypt. Six genera and nine species
are recognized. Estimated body weights for these taxa are based on the regression equation log
10(B) = 2.86log
10(L) + 1.37, whereB is the bodyweight in grams, and Lis the M
2
length in millimeters. The equation is derived from 106 species of living primates. Fayum species range in body weight from
about 600 g (Apidium moustafai)to about 6000 g (Aegyptopithecus zeuxis).A similar range of body weight is found among extant Cebidae. The Fayum primates are larger than any extant insectivorous
primates;this fact probably rules out a predominantly insectivorous diet. Extant frugivorous hominoids can be separated from folivorous
hominoids on the basis of molar morphology. Folivorous apes (gorilla and siamang) have proportionately more shearing on their
molars than do frugivorous species. Based on the hominoid analogy, the molar morphology of the Fayum species is consistent
with a frugivorous diet. Parapithecus grangeristands apart from other Fayum species in having better developed molar shearing, possibly indicating that it had more fiber
in its diet. Terrestrial species of Old World monkeys tend to have significantly higher molar crowns than do more arboreal
species. This difference may relate to an increased amount of grit in the diet of the more terrestrial species, selecting
for greater resistance to wear. Oligocene primates have molar crown heights consistent with a primarily arboreal mode of existence.
However, the particularly high molar crowns of Parapithecus grangerisuggest that this species may have foraged on the ground to a considerable degree. Other evidence is advanced suggesting that Apidiummay have had a diurnal activity pattern. |
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Keywords: | primates Anthropoidea paleontology dental anatomy |
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