2023-10-17 12:49:37
On December 4, 2002, the first remains of a fossil primate appeared in the Can Mata Landfill, in Els Hostalets de Pierola (Barcelona), as a result of works related to the expansion of the facility. In subsequent days and excavation campaigns, up to 83 remains of an adult individual were recovered which, after months of study, ended up allowing us to describe a new genus and species: Pierolapithecus catalaunicus. The research was published in 2004 in the journal Science and had a great international impact. The specimen was named popular name of ‘Pau’.
Since then, Pau’s remains have given rise to many other publications that have established him as a key species for studying the evolution of hominoids, the group of apes that includes humans and our closest current relatives, the anthropomorphs ( gibbons, orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees).
The remains of ‘Pierolapithecus catalaunicus’ have given rise to many publications that consolidate it as a key species for studying the evolution of hominoids, a group that includes humans and anthropomorphic primates.
In order to recover the original appearance of its skull before the fossilization process, a research team from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH, Brooklyn College and the Catalan Institute of Paleontology Miquel Crusafont (ICP) has reconstructed the skull, well preserved but damaged, of this kind of great ape that lived about 12 million years ago.
He Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, may be crucial to understanding the evolution of great apes and humans. The researchers describe their findings this week in the journal PNAS.
The team has made a CT scan to get a 3D model which has allowed this deformation to be corrected virtually.
erect trunk
One of the most notable aspects is its orthograde body design (with the trunk erect), a characteristic that preceded the suspensory adaptations of hominids. He Pierolapithecus catalaunicus It could climb vertically up the trunks and probably move quadrupedally over the branches, but it could not suspend itself from them as other anthropomorphs do, such as orangutans or gibbons.
“The objective of this research was not only to know what was the real morphology of the face of Pierolapithecus “but to better understand the affinities of their facial features and reconstruct the evolutionary history of the hominid face using state-of-the-art comparative morphometric approaches,” he explains. Sergio Almécijaresearcher at the AMNH and associated with the ICP.
The shape of the face is different from that of orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees. We think that its size and body morphology is quite similar to that of the last common ancestor of large anthropomorphs and humans.
Sergio Almécija, study leader
The results support the hypothesis that P.catalaunicus It is a basal hominid, as concluded in the original description. “The shape of the face is different from that of current orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees, but we think that its size and body morphology is quite similar to that of the last common ancestor of large anthropomorphs and humans,” says Almécija, who is also the senior author leading the study.
The study supports the possibility that hylobatidsthe group that includes gibbons and siamangs and which are smaller than current hominids, derive secondarily from a larger ancestor.
Once the deformation has been corrected using virtual methods, the face of Pierolapithecus appears taller, with the orbits and nasal opening more vertical.
Ancient recreation of the life appearance of a specimen of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus. For transparency, the original skull can be seen: / Meike Köhler / © ICP
“More than 20 years after its discovery, Pierolapithecus continues to provide us with relevant information about our origins and I am sure that it still has many surprises in store for us,” he comments. David M. Alba, director of the ICP and who participated in the excavation of the fossil. “But it took me a little while to get used to Pau’s new face, it’s as if a lifelong friend had a cosmetic operation,” the researcher jokes.
It took me a little while to get used to Pau’s new face, it’s as if a lifelong friend had a cosmetic operation.
David M. Alba, director of the Catalan Institute of Paleontology
An evolutionary treasure in a landfill
Pau was an adult male who lived about 12 million years ago (during the Middle Miocene), in what is currently the Can Mata Landfill and is another example of the extraordinary fossil record of primates from the Miocene of the Vallès-Penedès basin. , which in the past has already provided other relevant specimens to study the evolution of hominoids such as Jordi (Hispanopithecus laietanus) or Luke (Anoiapithecus brevirostris).
From what we know from the fossil record, hominoids experienced a first evolutionary radiation in Africa during the Miocene Lower (about 16 million years ago), reaching a first peak of diversity about 20 million years ago.
Starting at the beginning of the Middle Miocene, some members of this group migrated towards Eurasia, where they gave rise to a second radiation that reached its peak during the Upper Miocene (about 8 million years ago). Towards the end of the Miocene, the human lineage originated in Africa and progressively expanded throughout the globe.
Anthropomorphs, on the other hand, became more restricted due to environmental changes, until they reached their current distribution in tropical Africa and Southeast Asia.
Reference:
Sergio Almécija et al. “The reconstructed cranium of Pierolapithecus and the evolution of the great ape face”. PNAS (October, 2023)
Rights: Creative Commons
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