Pliobates Explained

Pliobates cataloniae is a primate from 11.6 million years ago, during the Iberian Miocene.[1] [2] Originally described as a species of stem-ape that was found to be the sister taxon to gibbons and great apes like humans,[3] it was subsequently reinterpreted as a non-ape catarrhine belonging to the group Crouzeliidae within the superfamily Pliopithecoidea on the basis of discovery of new dental remains with crouzeliid synapomorphies.[4]

Mosaic characteristics

Its anatomy is gibbon-like; prior to this discovery, it was assumed that the ancestral ape bauplan was robust like Proconsul.[5] This species has mosaic characteristics of primitive, monkey-like features and the more derived ape characteristics; however, even when originally described it wasn't interpreted as a direct ancestor of modern apes but rather a side-branch that retained the ancestral morphotype and was thus placed in its own family Pliobatidae.[6] Its subsequent placement within Pliopithecoidea indicates that it was convergent with apes in elbow and wrist morphology.

Notes and References

  1. Bouchet . Florian . Urciuoli . Alessandro . Beaudet . Amélie . Pina . Marta . Moyà-Solà . Salvador . Alba . David M. . 2021-12-01 . Comparative anatomy of the carotid canal in the Miocene small-bodied catarrhine Pliobates cataloniae . Journal of Human Evolution . 161 . 103073 . 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103073 . 34628300 . 2021JHumE.16103073B . 0047-2484. 2263/82958 . free .
  2. Urciuoli . Alessandro . Zanolli . Clément . Bouchet . Florian . Almécija . Sergio . Moyà-Solà . Salvador . Alba . David M . 2022 . Semicircular canal morphology of the Miocene small-bodied catarrhine Pliobates cataloniae: Phylogenetic implications . American Journal of Biological Anthropology . en . 77 . 187 . 10.13140/RG.2.2.34937.34409.
  3. Alba . David M. . Almécija . Sergio . DeMiguel . Daniel . Fortuny . Josep . de los Rios . Miriam Pérez . Pina . Marta . Robles . Josep M. . Moyà-Solà . Salvador . Miocene small-bodied ape from Eurasia sheds light on hominoid evolution . . 30 October 2015 . 350 . 6260 . aab2625 . 10.1126/science.aab2625 . 26516285. 2015Sci...350.2625A . free .
  4. Bouchet . Florian . Zanolli . Clément . Urciuoli . Alessandro . Almécija . Sergio . Fortuny . Josep . Robles . Josep M. . Beaudet . Amélie . Moyà-Solà . Salvador . Alba . David M. . 2024 . The Miocene primate Pliobates is a pliopithecoid . Nature Communications . 15 . 1 . 2822 . 10.1038/s41467-024-47034-9 . 38561329 . 10984959 . free . 2024NatCo..15.2822B .
  5. News: Colin . Barras . Fossil discovery could be the last common ancestor to all apes . . 29 October 2015 .
  6. News: Ancestor of all apes might not be what scientists expected, new fossil shows . Amina . Kahn . 29 October 2015 . Science Now . .

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