Miocene small-bodied ape from Eurasia sheds light on hominoid evolution

Miocene small-bodied anthropoid primates from Africa and Eurasia are generally considered to precede the divergence between the two groups of extant catarrhines—hominoids (apes and humans) and Old World monkeys—and are thus viewed as more primitive than the stem ape Proconsul. Here we describe Pliob...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2015-10, Vol.350 (6260), p.528-528
Main Authors: Alba, David M., Almécija, Sergio, DeMiguel, Daniel, Fortuny, Josep, de los Ríos, Miriam Pérez, Pina, Marta, Robles, Josep M., Moyà-Solà, Salvador
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analogies
Animals
Apes
Biological Evolution
Body Weight
Bone and Bones - anatomy & histology
Brain - anatomy & histology
Brain - growth & development
Cladistic analysis
Cleaning
Dentition
Displays
Evolution
Evolutionary biology
Hominidae - anatomy & histology
Hominidae - classification
Hominidae - growth & development
Humans
Hylobates - anatomy & histology
Hylobates - classification
Hylobates - growth & development
Monkeys & apes
Phylogeny
Primates
PROCONSUL
RESEARCH ARTICLE SUMMARY
Skull - anatomy & histology
Skull - growth & development
Spain
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Summary:Miocene small-bodied anthropoid primates from Africa and Eurasia are generally considered to precede the divergence between the two groups of extant catarrhines—hominoids (apes and humans) and Old World monkeys—and are thus viewed as more primitive than the stem ape Proconsul. Here we describe Pliobates cataloniae gen. et sp. nov., a small-bodied (4 to 5 kilograms) primate from the Iberian Miocene (11.6 million years ago) that displays a mosaic of primitive characteristics coupled with multiple cranial and postcranial shared derived features of extant hominoids. Our cladistic analyses show that Pliobates is a stem hominoid that is more derived than previously described small catarrhines and Proconsul. This forces us to reevaluate the role played by small-bodied catarrhines in ape evolution and provides key insight into the last common ancestor of hylobatids (gibbons) and hominids (great apes and humans).
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.aab2625