Pallas Laurent, Daver Guillaume, Merceron Gildas, Boisserie Jean-Renaud
Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie (PALEVOPRIM), UMR CNRS 7262, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers Cedex 86022, France.
Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie (PALEVOPRIM), UMR CNRS 7262, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers Cedex 86022, France.
J Hum Evol. 2023 May;178:103333. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103333. Epub 2023 Mar 23.
Theropithecus brumpti is a primate known from numerous craniodental specimens in the Plio-Pleistocene Shungura Formation (Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia), but the anatomy of its hindlimb is documented only by a few associated and mostly incomplete postcranial specimens. The adaptations of T. brumpti are still debated, with its substrate preferences and its use of squatting postures recently discussed based on anatomical differences when compared with its extant representative, Theropithecus gelada. Here, we describe an associated femur and tibia (L 869-1 and L 869-2) of a presumed T. brumpti male and a partial foot (L 865-1r and L 865-1t) of a male T. brumpti, dated to ca. 2.6 Ma and ca. 2.32 Ma respectively. Based on univariate and bivariate morphometric analyses, we provide new data on the morphological correlates of substrate preferences and postural behaviors of this fossil species. Our results are in agreement with previous analyses and present T. brumpti as a predominantly terrestrial primate. We demonstrate the presence of osteological correlates associated with the use of squatting behaviors in T. brumpti but also point to significant anatomical differences between this paleontological species and T. gelada. These differences blur the functional value of characters previously identified as diagnostic of T. gelada and its postural behavior. We further document the postcranial distinctiveness of the Theropithecus clade in relation to the Papio clade. This study thus provides new insights into the postcranial anatomy and paleoecology of an abundant fossil primate from the Plio-Pleistocene of eastern Africa.
布鲁姆氏疣猴是一种灵长类动物，在更新世早期的舒古拉组（埃塞俄比亚下奥莫河谷）有大量的颅齿标本，但其后肢解剖结构仅由少数相关且大多不完整的颅后标本记录。布鲁姆氏疣猴的适应性仍存在争议，最近基于与现存代表物种狮尾狒比较时的解剖差异，讨论了其对底物的偏好和蹲姿的使用情况。在此，我们描述了一具推测为雄性布鲁姆氏疣猴的关联股骨和胫骨（L 869 - 1和L 869 - 2）以及一具雄性布鲁姆氏疣猴的部分足部（L 865 - 1r和L 865 - 1t），它们的年代分别约为260万年和约232万年。基于单变量和双变量形态计量分析，我们提供了关于这个化石物种底物偏好和姿势行为形态关联的新数据。我们的结果与之前的分析一致，表明布鲁姆氏疣猴主要是陆生灵长类动物。我们证明了在布鲁姆氏疣猴中存在与蹲姿行为使用相关的骨骼关联，但也指出了这个古生物物种与狮尾狒之间存在显著的解剖差异。这些差异模糊了先前被确定为狮尾狒及其姿势行为诊断特征的功能价值。我们进一步记录了疣猴类与狒狒类在颅后结构上的独特性。因此，这项研究为来自东非上新世 - 更新世的一种丰富化石灵长类动物的颅后解剖结构和古生态学提供了新的见解。
