Darwinius masillae is a strepsirrhine—a reply to Franzen et al. (2009)

Early euprimates already had a diverse locomotor repertoire: Evidence from ankle bone morphology

The morphological adaptations of euprimates have been linked to their origin and early evolution in an arboreal environment. However, the ancestral and early locomotor repertoire of this group remains contentious. Although some tarsal bones like the astragalus and the calcaneus have been thoroughly studied, the navicular remains poorly studied despite its potential implications for foot mobility. Here, we evaluate early euprimate locomotion by assessing the shape of the navicular-an important component of the midtarsal region of the foot-using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics in relation to quantified locomotor repertoire in a wide data set of extant primates. We also reconstruct the locomotor repertoire of representatives of the major early primate lineages with a novel phylogenetically informed discriminant analysis and characterize the changes that occurred in the navicular during the archaic primate-euprimate transition. To do so, we included in our study an extensive sample of naviculars (36 specimens) belonging to different species of adapiforms, omomyiforms, and plesiadapiforms. Our results indicate that navicular shape embeds a strong functional signal, allowing us to infer the type of locomotion of extinct primates. We demonstrate that early euprimates displayed a diverse locomotor behavior, although they did not reach the level of specialization of some living forms. Finally, we show that the navicular bone experienced substantial reorganization throughout the archaic primate-euprimate transition, supporting the major functional role of the tarsus during early primate evolution. This study demonstrates that navicular shape can be used as a reliable proxy for primate locomotor behavior. In addition, it sheds light on the diverse locomotor behavior of early primates as well as on the archaic primate-euprimate transition, which involved profound morphological changes within the tarsus, including the navicular bone.

Evolution of vertebral numbers in primates, with a focus on hominoids and the last common ancestor of hominins and panins

The primate vertebral column has been extensively studied, with a particular focus on hominoid primates and the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees. The number of vertebrae in hominoids-up to and including the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees-is subject to considerable debate. However, few formal ancestral state reconstructions exist, and none include a broad sample of primates or account for the correlated evolution of the vertebral column. Here, we conduct an ancestral state reconstruction using a model of evolution that accounts for both homeotic (changes of one type of vertebra to another) and meristic (addition or loss of a vertebra) changes. Our results suggest that ancestral primates were characterized by 29 precaudal vertebrae, with the most common formula being seven cervical, 13 thoracic, six lumbar, and three sacral vertebrae. Extant hominoids evolved tail loss and a reduced lumbar column via sacralization (homeotic transition at the last lumbar vertebra). Our results also indicate that the ancestral hylobatid had seven cervical, 13 thoracic, five lumbar, and four sacral vertebrae, and the ancestral hominid had seven cervical, 13 thoracic, four lumbar, and five sacral vertebrae. The last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees likely either retained this ancestral hominid formula or was characterized by an additional sacral vertebra, possibly acquired through a homeotic shift at the sacrococcygeal border. Our results support the 'short-back' model of hominin vertebral evolution, which postulates that hominins evolved from an ancestor with an African ape-like numerical composition of the vertebral column.

Morphological disparity and evolutionary transformations in the primate hyoid apparatus

The hyoid apparatus plays an integral role in swallowing, respiration, and vocalization in mammals. Most placental mammals have a rod-shaped basihyal connected to the basicranium via both soft tissues and a mobile bony chain-the anterior cornu-whereas anthropoid primates have broad, shield-like or even cup-shaped basihyals suspended from the basicranium by soft tissues only. How the unique anthropoid hyoid morphology evolved is unknown, and hyoid morphology of nonanthropoid primates is poorly documented. Here we use phylogenetic comparative methods and linear morphometrics to address knowledge gaps in hyoid evolution among primates and their euarchontan outgroups. We find that dermopterans have variable reduction of cornu elements. Cynocephalus volans are sexually dimorphic in hyoid morphology. Tupaia and all lemuroids except Daubentonia have a fully ossified anterior cornu connecting a rod-shaped basihyal to the basicranium; this is the ancestral mammalian pattern that is also characteristic of the last common ancestor of Primates. Haplorhines exhibit a reduced anterior cornu, and anthropoids underwent further increase in basihyal aspect ratio values and in relative basihyal volume. Convergent with haplorhines, lorisoid strepsirrhines independently evolved a broad basihyal and reduced anterior cornua. While a reduced anterior cornu is hypothesized to facilitate vocal tract lengthening and lower formant frequencies in some mammals, our results suggest vocalization adaptations alone are unlikely to drive the iterative reduction of anterior cornua within Primates. Our new data on euarchontan hyoid evolution provide an anatomical basis for further exploring the form-function relationships of the hyoid across different behaviors, including vocalization, chewing, and swallowing.

First navicular remains of a European adapiform (Anchomomys frontanyensis) from the Middle Eocene of the Eastern Pyrenees (Catalonia, Spain): implications for early primate locomotor behavior and navicular evolution

We describe the first known navicular bones for an Eocene euprimate from Europe and assess their implications for early patterns of locomotor evolution in primates. Recovered from the fossil site of Sant Jaume de Frontanyà-3C (Barcelona, Spain), the naviculars are attributed to Anchomomys frontanyensis. The small size of A. frontanyensis allows us to consider behavioral implications of comparisons with omomyiforms, regardless of allometric sources of navicular variation. Researchers usually consider omomyiforms to be more prone to leaping than contemporaneous adapiforms partly because of the more pronounced elongation of omomyiform tarsal elements. However, A. frontanyensis differs from other adapiforms and is similar to some omomyiforms in its more elongated navicular proportions. Although this might raise questions about attribution of these naviculars to A. frontanyensis, the elements exhibit clear strepsirrhine affinities leaving little doubt about the attribution: the bones' mesocuneiform facets contact their cuboid facets. We further propose that this strepsirrhine-specific feature in A. frontanyensis and other adapiforms reflects use of more inverted foot postures and potentially smaller substrates than sympatric omomyiforms that lack it. Thus substrate differences may have influenced niche partitioning in Eocene euprimate communities along with differences in locomotor agility. As previous studies on the astragalus and the calcaneus have suggested, this study on the navicular is consistent with the hypothesis that the locomotor mode of A. frontanyensis was similar to that of extant cheirogaleids, especially species of Microcebus and Mirza.

Dental Data Perform Relatively Poorly in Reconstructing Mammal Phylogenies: Morphological Partitions Evaluated with Molecular Benchmarks

Phylogenetic trees underpin reconstructions of evolutionary history and tests of evolutionary hypotheses. They are inferred from both molecular and morphological data, yet the relative value of morphology has been questioned in this context due to perceived homoplasy, developmental linkage, and nonindependence of characters. Nevertheless, fossil data are limited to incomplete subsets of preserved morphology, and different regions are treated as equivalent. Through meta-analysis of 40 data sets, we show here that the dental and osteological characters of mammals convey significantly different phylogenetic signals, and that osteological characters are significantly more compatible with molecular trees. Furthermore, the application of simplified paleontological filters (retaining only dental data) results in significantly greater loss of phylogenetic signal than random character ablation. Although the mammal fossil record is largely comprised of teeth, dental data alone are generally found to be less reliable for phylogenetic reconstruction given their incongruence with osteological and molecular data. These findings highlight the need for rigorous meta-analyses of distributions of homoplasy in morphological data. These tests, and consequent refinements to phylogenetic analyses that they permit, promise to improve the quality of all macroevolutionary studies that hinge on accurate trees. [Homoplasy; Mammalia; morphology; osteology; phylogeny; teeth.

Astragalar and calcaneal morphology of the middle Eocene primate Anchomomys frontanyensis (Anchomomyini): Implications for early primate evolution

Astragali and calcanei of Anchomomys frontanyensis, a small adapiform from the middle Eocene of Sant Jaume de Frontanyà (Southern Pyrenean basins, northeastern Spain) are described in detail. Though these bones have been known for some time, they have never been carefully analyzed in a context that is comprehensively comparative, quantitative, considers sample variation (astragalus n = 4; calcaneus n = 16), and assesses the phylogenetic significance of the material in an explicit cladistic context, as we do here. Though these bones are isolated, regression analyses provide the first formal statistical support for attribution to A. frontanyensis. The astragalus presents features similar to those of the small stem strepsirrhine Djebelemur from the middle Eocene of Tunisia, while the calcaneus more closely resembles those of the basal omomyiform Teilhardina. The new phylogenetic analyses that include Anchomomys' postcranial and dental data recover anchomomyins outside of the adapiform clade, and closer to djebelemurids, azibiids, and crown strepsirrhines. The small size of A. frontanyensis allows comparison of similarly small adapiforms and omomyiforms (haplorhines) such that observed variation has more straightforward implications for function. Previous studies have demonstrated that distal calcaneal elongation is reflective of leaping proclivity when effects of body mass are appropriately accounted for; in this context, A. frontanyensis has calcaneal elongation suggesting a higher degree of leaping specialization than other adapiforms and even some early omomyiforms. Moreover, comparison to a similarly-sized early adapiform from India, Marcgodinotius (which shows no calcaneal elongation) confirms that high distal calcaneal elongation in A. frontanyensis cannot be simply explained by allometric effects of small size compared to larger adapiform taxa. This pattern is consistent with the idea that significant distal calcaneal elongation evolved at least twice in early euprimates, and that early primate niche space frequently included demands for increased leaping specialization.

Life history of the most complete fossil primate skeleton: exploring growth models for Darwinius

Darwinius is an adapoid primate from the Eocene of Germany, and its only known specimen represents the most complete fossil primate ever found. Its describers hypothesized a close relationship to Anthropoidea, and using a Saimiri model estimated its age at death. This study reconstructs the ancestral permanent dental eruption sequences for basal Euprimates, Haplorhini, Anthropoidea, and stem and crown Strepsirrhini. The results show that the ancestral sequences for the basal euprimate, haplorhine and stem strepsirrhine are identical, and similar to that of Darwinius. However, Darwinius differs from anthropoids by exhibiting early development of the lower third molars relative to the lower third and fourth premolars. The eruption of the lower second premolar marks the point of interruption of the sequence in Darwinius. The anthropoid Saimiri as a model is therefore problematic because it exhibits a delayed eruption of P2. Here, an alternative strepsirrhine model based on Eulemur and Varecia is presented. Our proposed model shows an older age at death than previously suggested (1.05-1.14 years), while the range for adult weight is entirely below the range proposed previously. This alternative model is more consistent with hypotheses supporting a stronger relationship between adapoids and strepsirrhines.

Species diversity and postcranial anatomy of eocene primates from Shanghuang, China

The middle Eocene Shanghuang fissure-fillings, located in southern Jiangsu Province in China near the coastal city of Shanghai (Fig. 1), contain a remarkably diverse array of fossil primates that provide a unique window into the complex role played by Asia during early primate evolution.1 Compared to contemporaneous localities in North America or Europe, the ancient primate community sampled at the Shanghuang fissure-fillings is unique in several ways. Although Shanghuang has some typical Eocene primates (Omomyidae and Adapoidea), it also contains the earliest known members of the Tarsiidae and Anthropoidea (Fig. 2), and some new taxa that are not as yet known from elsewhere. It exhibits a large number of primate species, at least 18, most of which are very small (15-500 g), including some of the smallest primates that have ever been recovered.

Evidence for a grooming claw in a North American adapiform primate: implications for anthropoid origins

Among fossil primates, the Eocene adapiforms have been suggested as the closest relatives of living anthropoids (monkeys, apes, and humans). Central to this argument is the form of the second pedal digit. Extant strepsirrhines and tarsiers possess a grooming claw on this digit, while most anthropoids have a nail. While controversial, the possible presence of a nail in certain European adapiforms has been considered evidence for anthropoid affinities. Skeletons preserved well enough to test this idea have been lacking for North American adapiforms. Here, we document and quantitatively analyze, for the first time, a dentally associated skeleton of Notharctus tenebrosus from the early Eocene of Wyoming that preserves the complete bones of digit II in semi-articulation. Utilizing twelve shape variables, we compare the distal phalanges of Notharctus tenebrosus to those of extant primates that bear nails (n = 21), tegulae (n = 4), and grooming claws (n = 10), and those of non-primates that bear claws (n = 7). Quantitative analyses demonstrate that Notharctus tenebrosus possessed a grooming claw with a surprisingly well-developed apical tuft on its second pedal digit. The presence of a wide apical tuft on the pedal digit II of Notharctus tenebrosus may reflect intermediate morphology between a typical grooming claw and a nail, which is consistent with the recent hypothesis that loss of a grooming claw occurred in a clade containing adapiforms (e.g. Darwinius masillae) and anthropoids. However, a cladistic analysis including newly documented morphologies and thorough representation of characters acknowledged to have states constituting strepsirrhine, haplorhine, and anthropoid synapomorphies groups Notharctus tenebrosus and Darwinius masillae with extant strepsirrhines rather than haplorhines suggesting that the form of pedal digit II reflects substantial homoplasy during the course of early primate evolution.

New adapiform primate of Old World affinities from the Devil's Graveyard Formation of Texas

Most adapiform primates from North America are members of an endemic radiation of notharctines. North American notharctines flourished during the Early and early Middle Eocene, with only two genera persisting into the late Middle Eocene. Here we describe a new genus of adapiform primate from the Devil's Graveyard Formation of Texas. Mescalerolemur horneri, gen. et sp. nov., is known only from the late Middle Eocene (Uintan) Purple Bench locality. Phylogenetic analyses reveal that Mescalerolemur is more closely related to Eurasian and African adapiforms than to North American notharctines. In this respect, M. horneri is similar to its sister taxon Mahgarita stevensi from the late Duchesnean of the Devil's Graveyard Formation. The presence of both genera in the Big Bend region of Texas after notharctines had become locally extinct provides further evidence of faunal interchange between North America and East Asia during the middle Eocene. The fact that Mescalerolemur and Mahgarita are both unknown outside of Texas also supports prior hypotheses that low-latitude faunal assemblages in North America demonstrate increased endemism by the late middle Eocene.

Astragalar morphology of Afradapis, a large adapiform primate from the earliest late Eocene of Egypt

The ∼37 million-year-old Birket Qarun Locality 2 (BQ-2), in the Birket Qarun Formation of Egypt's Fayum Depression, yields evidence for a diverse primate fauna, including the earliest known lorisiforms, parapithecoid anthropoids, and Afradapis longicristatus, a large folivorous adapiform. Phylogenetic analysis has placed Afradapis as a stem strepsirrhine within a clade of caenopithecine adapiforms, contradicting the recently popularized alternative hypothesis aligning adapiforms with haplorhines or anthropoids. We describe an astragalus from BQ-2 (DPC 21445C), attributable to Afradapis on the basis of size and relative abundance. The astragalus is remarkably similar to those of extant lorises, having a low body, no posterior shelf, a broad head and neck. It is like extant strepsirrhines more generally, in having a fibular facet that slopes gently away from the lateral tibial facet, and in having a groove for the tendon of flexor fibularis that is lateral to the tibial facet. Comparisons to a sample of euarchontan astragali show the new fossil to be most similar to those of adapines and lorisids. The astragali of other adapiforms are most similar to those of lemurs, but distinctly different from those of all anthropoids. Our measurements show that in extant strepsirrhines and adapiforms the fibular facet slopes away from the lateral tibial facet at a gradual angle (112-126°), in contrast to the anthropoid fibular facet, which forms a sharper angle (87-101°). Phylogenetic analyses incorporating new information from the astragalus continue to support strepsirrhine affinities for adapiforms under varying models of character evolution.