Oldest monkey fossils outside of Africa found

Date:
October 9, 2020
Source:
Penn State
Summary:
Three fossils found in a lignite mine in southeastern Yunan
Province, China, are about 6.4 million years old, indicate monkeys
existed in Asia at the same time as apes, and are probably the
ancestors of some of the modern monkeys in the area, according to
an international team of researchers.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Three fossils found in a lignite mine in southeastern Yunan Province,
China, are about 6.4 million years old, indicate monkeys existed in
Asia at the same time as apes, and are probably the ancestors of some
of the modern monkeys in the area, according to an international team
of researchers.


========================================================================== "This is significant because they are some of the very oldest fossils of monkeys outside of Africa," said Nina G. Jablonski, Evan Pugh University Professor of Anthropology, Penn State. "It is close to or actually
the ancestor of many of the living monkeys of East Asia. One of the
interesting things from the perspective of paleontology is that this
monkey occurs at the same place and same time as ancient apes in Asia."
The researchers, who included Jablonski and long-time collaborator Xueping
Ji, department of paleoanthropology, Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics
and Archaeology, Kunming, China, studied the fossils unearthed from the Shuitangba lignite mine that has yielded many fossils. They report that
"The mandible and proximal femur were found in close proximity and are
probably of the same individual," in a recent issue of the Journal of
Human Evolution. Also uncovered slightly lower was a left calcaneus --
heel bone -- reported by Dionisios Youlatos, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, in another paper online in the journal, that
belongs to the same species of monkey, Mesopithecus pentelicus.

"The significance of the calcaneus is that it reveals the monkey was
well adapted for moving nimbly and powerfully both on the ground and
in the trees," said Jablonski. "This locomotor versatility no doubt
contributed to the success of the species in dispersing across woodland corridors from Europe to Asia." The lower jawbone and upper portion
of the leg bone indicate that the individual was female, according to
the researchers. They suggest that these monkeys were probably "jacks
of all trades" able to navigate in the trees and on land. The teeth
indicate they could eat a wide variety of plants, fruits and flowers,
while apes eat mostly fruit.

"The thing that is fascinating about this monkey, that we know from
molecular anthropology, is that, like other colobines (Old World monkeys),
it had the ability to ferment cellulose," said Jablonski. "It had a gut
similar to that of a cow." These monkeys are successful because they can
eat low-quality food high in cellulose and obtain sufficient energy by fermenting the food and using the subsequent fatty acids then available
from the bacteria. A similar pathway is used by ruminant animals like
cows, deer and goats.



========================================================================== "Monkeys and apes would have been eating fundamentally different things,"
said Jablonski. "Apes eat fruits, flowers, things easy to digest, while
monkeys eat leaves, seeds and even more mature leaves if they have
to. Because of this different digestion, they don't need to drink free
water, getting all their water from vegetation." These monkeys do not
have to live near bodies of water and can survive periods of dramatic
climatic change.

"These monkeys are the same as those found in Greece during the same
time period," said Jablonski. "Suggesting they spread out from a center somewhere in central Europe and they did it fairly quickly. That
is impressive when you think of how long it takes for an animal to
disperse tens of thousands of kilometers through forest and woodlands."
While there is evidence that the species began in Eastern Europe and
moved out from there, the researchers say the exact patterns are unknown,
but they do know the dispersal was rapid, in evolutionary terms. During
the end of the Miocene when these monkeys were moving out of Eastern
Europe, apes were becoming extinct or nearly so, everywhere except in
Africa and parts of Southeast Asia.

"The late Miocene was a period of dramatic environmental change," said Jablonski. "What we have at this site is a fascinating snapshot of the
end of the Miocene -- complete with one of the last apes and one of the
new order of monkeys. This is an interesting case in primate evolution
because it testifies to the value of versatility and adaptability in
diverse and changing environments. It shows that once a highly adaptable
form sets out, it is successful and can become the ancestral stock of
many other species." The National Science Foundation, Penn State and
Bryn Mawr funded this research.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Penn_State. Original written by
A'ndrea Elyse Messer.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Nina G. Jablonski, Xueping Ji, Jay Kelley, Lawrence J. Flynn,
Chenglong
Deng, Denise F. Su. Mesopithecus pentelicus from Zhaotong,
China, the easternmost representative of a widespread Miocene
cercopithecoid species. Journal of Human Evolution, 2020; 146:
102851 DOI: 10.1016/ j.jhevol.2020.102851 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201009114202.htm

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