Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de Les Columnes S/n, 08193, Cerdanyola Del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; Departamento de Ciencias de La Tierra, Área de Paleontología, Universidad de Zaragoza, Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain; Fundación ARAID, Zaragoza, Spain.
Dipartimento di Scienze Della Terra, Università Degli Studi di Firenze, Via La Pira 4, 50121 Firenze, Italy.
J Hum Evol. 2018 Mar;116:14-26. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.11.008. Epub 2017 Dec 28.
Despite its long history of scientific study, the causes underlying the extinction of the insular hominoid Oreopithecus bambolii are still a matter of ongoing debate. While some authors consider intense tectonism and invading species the cause of its extinction ca. 6.7 Ma, others propose climatic change as the main contributing factor. We rely on long-term patterns of tooth wear and hypsodonty of the Baccinello and Fiume Santo herbivore-faunas to reconstruct changes in habitat prior to, during and after the extinction. While a mosaic of habitats was represented in Baccinello V1 (as shown by a record of browsers, mixed feeders and species engaged in grazing), more closed forests (higher proportion of browsers, shortage of mixed feeders and lack of grazers) characterised Baccinello V2. Finally, there was a partial loss of canopy cover and development of open-patches and low-abrasive grasses in Baccinello V3 (as denoted by new records of taxa involved in grazing)-although still dominated by a forested habitat (since browse was a component in all diets). Our results provide evidence for two perceptible shifts in climate, one between 8.1 and 7.1 Ma and other ca. 6.7 Ma, though this latter was not drastic enough to lead to intensive forest loss, substantially alter the local vegetation or affect Oreopithecus lifestyle-especially if considering the growing evidence of its versatile diet. Although the disappearance of Oreopithecus is complex, our data reject the hypothesis of environmental change as the main factor in the extinction of Oreopithecus and Maremma fauna. When our results are analysed together with other evidence, faunal interaction and predation by invading species from mainland Europe seems to be the most parsimonious explanation for this extinction event. This contrasts with European hominoid extinctions that were associated with major climatic shifts that led to environmental uniformity and restriction of the preferred habitats of Miocene apes.
尽管对岛屿原猴 Oreopithecus bambolii 的灭绝原因进行了长期的科学研究，但仍存在争议。一些作者认为强烈的构造运动和入侵物种是其在大约 670 万年前灭绝的原因，而另一些作者则认为气候变化是主要因素。我们依靠 Baccinello 和 Fiume Santo 食草动物群长期的牙齿磨损和高齿冠模式，来重建灭绝前、灭绝中和灭绝后的栖息地变化。虽然 Baccinello V1 代表了多种生境（记录有食叶动物、混合食者和食草动物），但 Baccinello V2 则具有更多的封闭森林特征（食叶动物的比例较高、混合食者短缺、食草动物缺乏）。最后，Baccinello V3 部分失去了树冠覆盖，出现了开阔斑块和低磨损的草（新记录了参与食草的分类群），尽管仍以森林生境为主（因为所有饮食中都包含有叶子的食物）。我们的结果提供了两次明显的气候变化的证据，一次发生在 810 万至 710 万年前，另一次发生在大约 670 万年前，尽管后者还没有剧烈到导致森林大量丧失、显著改变当地植被或影响 Oreopithecus 的生活方式——特别是如果考虑到其多样化饮食的证据越来越多的话。尽管 Oreopithecus 的消失很复杂，但我们的数据否定了环境变化是 Oreopithecus 和玛雷玛动物群灭绝的主要因素的假设。当我们的结果与其他证据一起分析时，来自欧洲大陆的物种入侵导致的种间相互作用和捕食似乎是这次灭绝事件最合理的解释。这与欧洲人科动物的灭绝形成对比，后者与导致环境均匀性和限制中新世猿类首选栖息地的主要气候变化有关。
