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Gannon C, Hill RA, Lameira AR. Open plains are not a level playing field for hominid consonant-like versus vowel-like calls. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21138. [PMID: 38129443 PMCID: PMC10739746 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48165-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Africa's paleo-climate change represents an "ecological black-box" along the evolutionary timeline of spoken language; a vocal hominid went in and, millions of years later, out came a verbal human. It is unknown whether or how a shift from forested, dense habitats towards drier, open ones affected hominid vocal communication, potentially setting stage for speech evolution. To recreate how arboreal proto-vowels and proto-consonants would have interacted with a new ecology at ground level, we assessed how a series of orangutan voiceless consonant-like and voiced vowel-like calls travelled across the savannah. Vowel-like calls performed poorly in comparison to their counterparts. Only consonant-like calls afforded effective perceptibility beyond 100 m distance without requiring repetition, as is characteristic of loud calling behaviour in nonhuman primates, typically composed by vowel-like calls. Results show that proto-consonants in human ancestors may have enhanced reliability of distance vocal communication across a canopy-to-ground ecotone. The ecological settings and soundscapes experienced by human ancestors may have had a more profound impact on the emergence and shape of spoken language than previously recognized.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Russell A Hill
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham, UK
- Primate and Predator Project, Soutpansberg Mountains, Thohoyandou, South Africa
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa
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2
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Fannin LD, Joy MS, Dominy NJ, McGraw WS, DeSilva JM. Downclimbing and the evolution of ape forelimb morphologies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230145. [PMID: 37680499 PMCID: PMC10480693 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
The forelimbs of hominoid primates (apes) are decidedly more flexible than those of monkeys, especially at the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. It is tempting to link the greater mobility of these joints to the functional demands of vertical climbing and below-branch suspension, but field-based kinematic studies have found few differences between chimpanzees and monkeys when comparing forelimb excursion angles during vertical ascent (upclimbing). There is, however, a strong theoretical argument for focusing instead on vertical descent (downclimbing), which motivated us to quantify the effects of climbing directionality on the forelimb kinematics of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys). We found that the shoulders and elbows of chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys subtended larger joint angles during bouts of downclimbing, and that the magnitude of this difference was greatest among chimpanzees. Our results cast new light on the functional importance of downclimbing, while also burnishing functional hypotheses that emphasize the role of vertical climbing during the evolution of apes, including the human lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke D. Fannin
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, Environment and Society, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Mary S. Joy
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Nathaniel J. Dominy
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - W. Scott McGraw
- Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Jeremy M. DeSilva
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, Environment and Society, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
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3
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Peppe DJ, Cote SM, Deino AL, Fox DL, Kingston JD, Kinyanjui RN, Lukens WE, MacLatchy LM, Novello A, Strömberg CAE, Driese SG, Garrett ND, Hillis KR, Jacobs BF, Jenkins KEH, Kityo RM, Lehmann T, Manthi FK, Mbua EN, Michel LA, Miller ER, Mugume AAT, Muteti SN, Nengo IO, Oginga KO, Phelps SR, Polissar P, Rossie JB, Stevens NJ, Uno KT, McNulty KP. Oldest evidence of abundant C 4 grasses and habitat heterogeneity in eastern Africa. Science 2023; 380:173-177. [PMID: 37053309 DOI: 10.1126/science.abq2834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
The assembly of Africa's iconic C4 grassland ecosystems is central to evolutionary interpretations of many mammal lineages, including hominins. C4 grasses are thought to have become ecologically dominant in Africa only after 10 million years ago (Ma). However, paleobotanical records older than 10 Ma are sparse, limiting assessment of the timing and nature of C4 biomass expansion. This study uses a multiproxy design to document vegetation structure from nine Early Miocene mammal site complexes across eastern Africa. Results demonstrate that between ~21 and 16 Ma, C4 grasses were locally abundant, contributing to heterogeneous habitats ranging from forests to wooded grasslands. These data push back the oldest evidence of C4 grass-dominated habitats in Africa-and globally-by more than 10 million years, calling for revised paleoecological interpretations of mammalian evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Peppe
- Department of Geosciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
| | - Susanne M Cote
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Alan L Deino
- Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA
| | - David L Fox
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - John D Kingston
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Rahab N Kinyanjui
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
- Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, D-07743 Jena, Germany
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
| | - William E Lukens
- Department of Geology & Environmental Science, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA
| | - Laura M MacLatchy
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Alice Novello
- CEREGE, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Collège de France, INRAE, 13545 Aix en Provence, France
- Department of Biology, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Caroline A E Strömberg
- Department of Biology, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Steven G Driese
- Department of Geosciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
| | - Nicole D Garrett
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Kayla R Hillis
- Department of Earth Sciences, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505, USA
| | - Bonnie F Jacobs
- Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, USA
| | - Kirsten E H Jenkins
- Department of Social Sciences, Tacoma Community College, Tacoma, WA 98466, USA
| | - Robert M Kityo
- Department of Zoology Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Thomas Lehmann
- Department Messel Research and Mammalogy, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Fredrick K Manthi
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
| | - Emma N Mbua
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
| | - Lauren A Michel
- Department of Earth Sciences, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505, USA
| | - Ellen R Miller
- Department of Anthropology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Amon A T Mugume
- Department of Zoology Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
- Uganda National Museum, Department of Museums and Monuments, Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Samuel N Muteti
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Isaiah O Nengo
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Kennedy O Oginga
- Department of Geosciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
| | - Samuel R Phelps
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Pratigya Polissar
- Ocean Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - James B Rossie
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Nancy J Stevens
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Ohio Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
| | - Kevin T Uno
- Division of Biology and Paleo Environment, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
| | - Kieran P McNulty
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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4
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MacLatchy LM, Cote SM, Deino AL, Kityo RM, Mugume AAT, Rossie JB, Sanders WJ, Cosman MN, Driese SG, Fox DL, Freeman AJ, Jansma RJW, Jenkins KEH, Kinyanjui RN, Lukens WE, McNulty KP, Novello A, Peppe DJ, Strömberg CAE, Uno KT, Winkler AJ, Kingston JD. The evolution of hominoid locomotor versatility: Evidence from Moroto, a 21 Ma site in Uganda. Science 2023; 380:eabq2835. [PMID: 37053310 DOI: 10.1126/science.abq2835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
Living hominoids are distinguished by upright torsos and versatile locomotion. It is hypothesized that these features evolved for feeding on fruit from terminal branches in forests. To investigate the evolutionary context of hominoid adaptive origins, we analyzed multiple paleoenvironmental proxies in conjunction with hominoid fossils from the Moroto II site in Uganda. The data indicate seasonally dry woodlands with the earliest evidence of abundant C4 grasses in Africa based on a confirmed age of 21 million years ago (Ma). We demonstrate that the leaf-eating hominoid Morotopithecus consumed water-stressed vegetation, and postcrania from the site indicate ape-like locomotor adaptations. These findings suggest that the origin of hominoid locomotor versatility is associated with foraging on leaves in heterogeneous, open woodlands rather than forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M MacLatchy
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Susanne M Cote
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Alan L Deino
- Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA
| | - Robert M Kityo
- Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Amon A T Mugume
- Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
- Uganda National Museum, Department of Museums and Monuments, Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Kampala, Uganda
| | - James B Rossie
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - William J Sanders
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Miranda N Cosman
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Steven G Driese
- Department of Geosciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
| | - David L Fox
- Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - April J Freeman
- Department of Geosciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
| | - Rutger J W Jansma
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Kirsten E H Jenkins
- Department of Social Sciences, Tacoma Community College, Tacoma, WA 98466, USA
| | - Rahab N Kinyanjui
- Earth Sciences Department, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
- Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena D-07743, Germany
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
| | - William E Lukens
- Department of Geology & Environmental Science, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA
| | - Kieran P McNulty
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Alice Novello
- CEREGE, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Collège de France, INRAE, Aix en Provence, France
- Department of Biology & Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Daniel J Peppe
- Department of Geosciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
| | - Caroline A E Strömberg
- Department of Biology & Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Kevin T Uno
- Division of Biology and Paleo Environment, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
| | - Alisa J Winkler
- Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, USA
- Section of Anatomy, Department of Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - John D Kingston
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Foecke KK, Hammond AS, Kelley J. Portable x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy geochemical sourcing of Miocene primate fossils from Kenya. J Hum Evol 2022; 170:103234. [PMID: 36001899 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the biogeography and evolution of Miocene catarrhines relies on accurate specimen provenience. It has long been speculated that some catarrhine specimens among the early collections from Miocene sites in Kenya have incorrect provenience data. The provenience of one of these, the holotype of Equatorius africanus (NHM M16649), was previously revised based on x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Here we use nondestructive portable x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to test the provenience of additional catarrhine specimens that, based hat two specimens purportedly from the Early Miocene site of Rusinga (KNM-RU 1681 and KNM-RU 1999) are instead from Maboko, three specimens purportedly from the Middle Miocene site of Fort Ternan (KNM-FT 8, KNM-FT 41, and KNM-FT 3318) are instead from Songhor, and one specimen accessioned as being from Songhor (KNM-SO 5352) is from that site. Elemental data reveal that two of the specimens (KNM-FT 3318 and KNM-RU 1681) are likely to have been collected at sites other than their museum-accessioned provenience, while two others (KNM-RU 1999, and KNM-FT 41) were confirmed to have correct provenience. Results for both KNM-FT 8 and KNM-SO 5352, while somewhat equivocal, are best interpreted as supporting their accessioned provenience. Our results have implications for the distribution of certain catarrhine species during the Miocene in Kenya. Confirmation of the provenience of the specimens also facilitates taxonomic attribution, and resulted in additions to the morphological characterizations of some species. The protocol presented here has potential for wider application to assessing questions of provenience for fossils from other locations and periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly K Foecke
- Center for Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
| | - Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, NY, USA
| | - Jay Kelley
- Institute of Human Origins and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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6
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Milligan JN, Flynn AG, Wagner JD, Kouwenberg LL, Barclay RS, Byars BW, Dunn RE, White JD, Zechmann B, Peppe DJ. Quantifying the effect of shade on cuticle morphology and carbon isotopes of sycamores: present and past. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2021; 108:2435-2451. [PMID: 34636420 PMCID: PMC9306692 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Reconstructing the light environment and architecture of the plant canopy from the fossil record requires the use of proxies, such as those derived from cell wall undulation, cell size, and carbon isotopes. All approaches assume that plant taxa will respond predictably to changes in light environments. However, most species-level studies looking at cell wall undulation only consider "sun" or "shade" leaves; therefore, we need a fully quantitative taxon-specific method. METHODS We quantified the response of cell wall undulation, cell size, and carbon isotopes of Platanus occidentalis using two experimental setups: (1) two growth chambers at low and high light and (2) a series of outdoor growth experiments using green and black shade cloth at different densities. We then developed and applied a proxy for daily light integral (DLI) to fossil Platanites leaves from two early Paleocene floras from the San Juan Basin in New Mexico. RESULTS All traits responded to light environment. Cell wall undulation was the most useful trait for reconstructing DLI in the geological record. Median reconstructed DLI from early Paleocene leaves was ~44 mol m-2 d-1 , with values from 28 to 54 mol m-2 d-1 . CONCLUSIONS Cell wall undulation of P. occidentalis is a robust, quantifiable measurement of light environment that can be used to reconstruct the paleo-light environment from fossil leaves. The distribution of high DLI values from fossil leaves may provide information on canopy architecture; indicating that either (1) most of the canopy mass is within the upper portion of the crown or (2) leaves exposed to more sunlight are preferentially preserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph N. Milligan
- Terrestrial Paleoclimatology Research Group, Department of GeosciencesBaylor UniversityWacoTXUSA
| | - Andrew G. Flynn
- Terrestrial Paleoclimatology Research Group, Department of GeosciencesBaylor UniversityWacoTXUSA
| | - Jennifer D. Wagner
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of California Berkeley, and UC Museum of PaleontologyBerkeleyCAUSA
| | | | - Richard S. Barclay
- Department of PaleobiologyNational Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th & Constitution Avenue NWWashingtonD.C.USA
| | | | - Regan E. Dunn
- Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, La Brea Tar PitsLos AngelesCAUSA
| | | | - Bernd Zechmann
- Center for Microscopy and ImagingBaylor UniversityWacoTXUSA
| | - Daniel J. Peppe
- Terrestrial Paleoclimatology Research Group, Department of GeosciencesBaylor UniversityWacoTXUSA
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7
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Brown JG. Ticks, Hair Loss, and Non-Clinging Babies: A Novel Tick-Based Hypothesis for the Evolutionary Divergence of Humans and Chimpanzees. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:435. [PMID: 34066043 PMCID: PMC8150933 DOI: 10.3390/life11050435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Human straight-legged bipedalism represents one of the earliest events in the evolutionary split between humans (Homo spp.) and chimpanzees (Pan spp.), although its selective basis is a mystery. A carrying-related hypothesis has recently been proposed in which hair loss within the hominin lineage resulted in the inability of babies to cling to their mothers, requiring mothers to walk upright to carry their babies. However, a question remains for this model: what drove the hair loss that resulted in upright walking? Observers since Darwin have suggested that hair loss in humans may represent an evolutionary strategy for defence against ticks. The aim of this review is to propose and evaluate a novel tick-based evolutionary hypothesis wherein forest fragmentation in hominin paleoenvironments created conditions that were favourable for tick proliferation, selecting for hair loss in hominins and grooming behaviour in chimpanzees as divergent anti-tick strategies. It is argued that these divergent anti-tick strategies resulted in different methods for carrying babies, driving the locomotor divergence of humans and chimpanzees.
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8
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Locke EM, Benefit BR, Kimock CM, Miller ER, Nengo I. New dentognathic fossils of Noropithecus bulukensis (Primates, Victoriapithecidae) from the late Early Miocene of Buluk, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2020; 148:102886. [PMID: 33031954 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The late Early Miocene site of Buluk, Kenya, has yielded fossil remains of several catarrhine primates, including 16 dentognathic specimens of the stem cercopithecoid Noropithecus bulukensis. With the exception of the large sample of Victoriapithecus macinnesi from the middle Miocene of Maboko Island, Kenya, the majority of stem cercopithecoid taxa are represented by small sample sizes. We describe and analyze 91 new cercopithecoid fossils collected from Buluk between 2004 and 2018, including several previously undescribed tooth positions for N. bulukensis, and provide the first evaluation of dental metric and morphological variation in this sample. The results show that the expanded Buluk sample exhibits high levels of dental variation in the postcanine tooth row, similar to V. macinnesi at Maboko, but this variation is consistent with a single-species hypothesis. Subtle differences in the shape of the I1, breadth of the C1 and P3, relative breadth of M1, upper and lower molar distal shelf lengths, the degree of M2 basal flare, and a less-developed lower molar distal lophid differentiate the dentition of N. bulukensis from V. macinnesi. Although differences exist between the N. bulukensis and V. macinnesi dental samples, the high degree of variation within each sample complicates the identification of many individual specimens. New partial maxillae and mandibles allow reassessment of previously described diagnostic differences between N. bulukensis and V. macinnesi, negating upper molar arcade shape as a diagnostic feature and confirming the existence of differences in mandibular symphyseal morphology. Overall, new fossils from Buluk provide new evidence of the dentognathic anatomy of a medium-sized cercopithecoid that coexisted with a diverse group of noncercopithecoid catarrhines at the end of the early Miocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellis M Locke
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85282, USA; School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85282, USA.
| | - Brenda R Benefit
- Department of Anthropology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA
| | - Clare M Kimock
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Ellen R Miller
- Department of Anthropology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, 27106, USA
| | - Isaiah Nengo
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA
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9
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Abstract
The relationship of evolution with diet and environment can provide insights into modern disease. Fossil evidence shows apes, and early human ancestors were fruit eaters living in environments with strongly seasonal climates. Rapid cooling at the end of the Middle Miocene (15-12 Ma: millions of years ago) increased seasonality in Africa and Europe, and ape survival may be linked with a mutation in uric acid metabolism. Climate stabilized in the later Miocene and Pliocene (12-5 Ma), and fossil apes and early hominins were both adapted for life on ground and in trees. Around 2.5 Ma, early species of Homo introduced more animal products into their diet, and this coincided with developing bipedalism, stone tool technology and increase in brain size. Early species of Homo such as Homo habilis still lived in woodland habitats, and the major habitat shift in human evolution occurred at 1.8 Ma with the origin of Homo erectus. Homo erectus had increased body size, greater hunting skills, a diet rich in meat, control of fire and understanding about cooking food, and moved from woodland to savannah. Group size may also have increased at the same time, facilitating the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next. The earliest fossils of Homo sapiens appeared about 300 kyr, but they had separated from Neanderthals by 480 kyr or earlier. Their diet shifted towards grain-based foods about 100 kyr ago, and settled agriculture developed about 10 kyr ago. This pattern remains for many populations to this day and provides important insights into current burden of lifestyle diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Andrews
- From the, Natural History Museum, London University College, London, UK
| | - R J Johnson
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA
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10
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Parins-Fukuchi C. Mosaic evolution, preadaptation, and the evolution of evolvability in apes. Evolution 2020; 74:297-310. [PMID: 31909490 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
A major goal in postsynthesis evolutionary biology has been to better understand how complex interactions between traits drive movement along and facilitate the formation of distinct evolutionary pathways. I present analyses of a character matrix sampled across the haplorrhine skeleton that revealed several modules of characters displaying distinct patterns in macroevolutionary disparity. Comparison of these patterns to those in neurological development showed that early ape evolution was characterized by an intense regime of evolutionary and developmental flexibility. Shifting and reduced constraint in apes was met with episodic bursts in phenotypic innovation that built a wide array of functional diversity over a foundation of shared developmental and anatomical structure. Shifts in modularity drove dramatic evolutionary changes across the ape body plan in two distinct ways: (1) an episode of relaxed integration early in hominoid evolution coincided with bursts in evolutionary rate across multiple character suites; (2) the formation of two new trait modules along the branch leading to chimps and humans preceded rapid and dramatic evolutionary shifts in the carpus and pelvis. Changes to the structure of evolutionary mosaicism may correspond to enhanced evolvability that has a "preadaptive" effect by catalyzing later episodes of dramatic morphological remodeling.
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11
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Reconstructing Paleoclimate and Paleoecology Using Fossil Leaves. VERTEBRATE PALEOBIOLOGY AND PALEOANTHROPOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-94265-0_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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12
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Linder HP. East African Cenozoic vegetation history. Evol Anthropol 2017; 26:300-312. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.21570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hans Peter Linder
- Institute of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany; University of Zurich; Zollikerstrasse Switzerland
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Uno KT, Polissar PJ, Jackson KE, deMenocal PB. Neogene biomarker record of vegetation change in eastern Africa. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:6355-63. [PMID: 27274042 PMCID: PMC4988583 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1521267113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of C4 grassland ecosystems in eastern Africa has been intensely studied because of the potential influence of vegetation on mammalian evolution, including that of our own lineage, hominins. Although a handful of sparse vegetation records exists from middle and early Miocene terrestrial fossil sites, there is no comprehensive record of vegetation through the Neogene. Here we present a vegetation record spanning the Neogene and Quaternary Periods that documents the appearance and subsequent expansion of C4 grasslands in eastern Africa. Carbon isotope ratios from terrestrial plant wax biomarkers deposited in marine sediments indicate constant C3 vegetation from ∼24 Ma to 10 Ma, when C4 grasses first appeared. From this time forward, C4 vegetation increases monotonically to present, with a coherent signal between marine core sites located in the Somali Basin and the Red Sea. The response of mammalian herbivores to the appearance of C4 grasses at 10 Ma is immediate, as evidenced from existing records of mammalian diets from isotopic analyses of tooth enamel. The expansion of C4 vegetation in eastern Africa is broadly mirrored by increasing proportions of C4-based foods in hominin diets, beginning at 3.8 Ma in Australopithecus and, slightly later, Kenyanthropus This continues into the late Pleistocene in Paranthropus, whereas Homo maintains a flexible diet. The biomarker vegetation record suggests the increase in open, C4 grassland ecosystems over the last 10 Ma may have operated as a selection pressure for traits and behaviors in Homo such as bipedalism, flexible diets, and complex social structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin T Uno
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964;
| | - Pratigya J Polissar
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964
| | - Kevin E Jackson
- Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042
| | - Peter B deMenocal
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
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Hunt KD. Why are there apes? Evidence for the co-evolution of ape and monkey ecomorphology. J Anat 2016; 228:630-85. [PMID: 27004976 PMCID: PMC4804131 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Apes, members of the superfamily Hominoidea, possess a distinctive suite of anatomical and behavioral characters which appear to have evolved relatively late and relatively independently. The timing of paleontological events, extant cercopithecine and hominoid ecomorphology and other evidence suggests that many distinctive ape features evolved to facilitate harvesting ripe fruits among compliant terminal branches in tree edges. Precarious, unpredictably oriented, compliant supports in the canopy periphery require apes to maneuver using suspensory and non-sterotypical postures (i.e. postures with eccentric limb orientations or extreme joint excursions). Diet differences among extant species, extant species numbers and evidence of cercopithecoid diversification and expansion, in concert with a reciprocal decrease in hominoid species, suggest intense competition between monkeys and apes over the last 20 Ma. It may be that larger body masses allow great apes to succeed in contest competitions for highly desired food items, while the ability of monkeys to digest antifeedant-rich unripe fruits allows them to win scramble competitions. Evolutionary trends in morphology and inferred ecology suggest that as monkeys evolved to harvest fruit ever earlier in the fruiting cycle they broadened their niche to encompass first more fibrous, tannin- and toxin-rich unripe fruits and later, for some lineages, mature leaves. Early depletion of unripe fruit in the central core of the tree canopy by monkeys leaves a hollow sphere of ripening fruits, displacing antifeedant-intolerant, later-arriving apes to small-diameter, compliant terminal branches. Hylobatids, orangutans, Pan species, gorillas and the New World atelines may have each evolved suspensory behavior independently in response to local competition from an expanding population of monkeys. Genetic evidence of rapid evolution among chimpanzees suggests that adaptations to suspensory behavior, vertical climbing, knuckle-walking, consumption of terrestrial piths and intercommunity violence had not yet evolved or were still being refined when panins (chimpanzees and bonobos) and hominins diverged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin D Hunt
- Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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Lutz JA. The Evolution of Long-Term Data for Forestry: Large Temperate Research Plots in an Era of Global Change. NORTHWEST SCIENCE 2015. [DOI: 10.3955/046.089.0306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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A systematic revision of Proconsul with the description of a new genus of early Miocene hominoid. J Hum Evol 2015; 84:42-61. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2014] [Revised: 02/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Paleoenvironmental context of the Middle Stone Age record from Karungu, Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya, and its implications for human and faunal dispersals in East Africa. J Hum Evol 2015; 83:28-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2014] [Revised: 03/11/2015] [Accepted: 03/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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Dental microwear profilometry of African non-cercopithecoid catarrhines of the Early Miocene. J Hum Evol 2015; 78:33-43. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Revised: 08/18/2014] [Accepted: 08/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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New Fauna from Loperot Contributes to the Understanding of Early Miocene Catarrhine Communities. INT J PRIMATOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-014-9799-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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