Brasil MF, Monson TA, Taylor CE, Yohler RM, Hlusko LJ. A Pleistocene assemblage of near-modern Papio hamadryas from the Middle Awash study area, Afar Rift, Ethiopia.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023;
180:48-76. [PMID:
36790648 DOI:
10.1002/ajpa.24634]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to assess a new assemblage of papionin fossils (n = 143) recovered from later Pleistocene sediments in the Middle Awash study area in the Afar Rift of Ethiopia.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We collected metric and qualitative data to compare the craniodental and postcranial anatomy of the papionin fossils with subspecies of modern Papio hamadryas and with Plio-Pleistocene African papionins. We also estimated sex and ontogenetic age.
RESULTS
The new fossils fit well within the range of morphological variation observed for extant P. hamadryas, overlapping most closely in dental size and proportions with the P. h. cynocephalus individuals in our extant samples, and well within the ranges of P. h. anubis and P. h. hamadryas. The considerable overlap in craniodental anatomy with multiple subspecies precludes subspecific diagnosis. We therefore referred 143 individuals to P. hamadryas ssp. The majority of the individuals assessed for ontogenetic age fell into middle- and old-adult age categories based on the degree of dental wear. Males (26%) were better represented than females (12%) among individuals preserving the canine-premolar honing complex.
DISCUSSION
These new near-modern P. hamadryas fossils provide a window into population-level variation in the later Pleistocene. Our findings echo previous suggestions from genomic studies that the papionin family tree may have included a ghost population and provide a basis for future testing of hypotheses regarding hybridization in the recent evolutionary history of this taxon.
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