A new Small Pliopithecoid Hominoid Primate From Miocene Neogene Thailand

A new small pliopithecoid primate from the Middle Miocene of Thailand

Authors:

Chaimanee et al

Abstract:

Pliopithecoids represent a monophyletic group of putative stem catarrhines whose evolutionary history is incompletely known. They have been recorded from Europe and Asia, between the late Early Miocene and the Late Miocene. Asian pliopithecoids are less well documented than their European counterparts, often being represented by a fragmentary fossil record. New discoveries are therefore critical to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the whole group. Here, we describe two isolated molars from Ban San Klang, a late Middle Miocene locality in northern Thailand, which confirms the presence of pliopithecoids in Southeast Asia. The lower molar had originally been described as being that of a dendropithecoid, but it was later recognized as pertaining to a pliopithecoid. The discovery, in the same locality, of an additional upper molar attributed to the same species confirms the pliopithecoid status of this taxon and highlights its distinctiveness with respect to other known Asian pliopithecoids. However, the mosaic of primitive and autapomorphic features characterizing this Thai fossil, as well as its limited anatomical representation, preclude us from assigning it to either of the known pliopithecid subfamilies. Nevertheless, it represents the only pliopithecoid in Southeast Asia and displays a mosaic of unique characters which emphasizes the peculiarity of that province, as suggested previously with respect to its hominoid primate.

Were Pliopithecoid Primates Unable to Adapt to a Changing PaleoClimate?

Co-occurrence of pliopithecoid and hominoid primates in the fossil record: An ecometric analysis

Authors:

Sukselainen et al

Abstract:

Both pliopithecoid and hominoid primates were widely distributed throughout Eurasia during the Miocene but are known to have coexisted at only a few localities. It has been speculated that their different habitat preferences permitted only minimal overlap under special environmental conditions. Here we study the context for pliopithecoid and hominoid co-occurrence by assessing taxonomically-based palaeoecological diversity of associated fossil mammals and by direct ecometric analysis based on hypsodonty of mammalian herbivores. Our results show that pliopithecoids persistently inhabited more humid environments compared to the other primate groups studied, suggesting an inability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The opportunity for hominoids and pliopithecoids to co-occur appears to have been restricted by niche conservatism in the latter group. Our study also indicates that direct ecometric analysis gives a better separation of the ecological preferences of these primate clades than do analyses of taxonomically-based community structure.