A thorny question : the taxonomic identity of the Pirro Nord cervical vertebrae revisited
Alba, David M.. (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Colombero, Simone (Università di Torino. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)
Delfino, Massimo (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Martínez Navarro, Bienvenido (Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social)
Pavia, Marco (Università di Torino. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)
Rook, Lorenzo (Università di Fierenze. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)

Date:	2014
Abstract:	The past geographic distribution of the genus Theropithecus (Primates: Cercopithecidae) is mainly restricted to Africa. Outside that continent, the earliest reported records of this genus consist of a calcaneus of cf. Theropithecus sp. from 'Ubeidiya (Israel, 1. 6-1. 2 Ma [millions of years ago]), as well as three associated cervical vertebrae from Pirro Nord (Italy, 1. 7-1. 3 Ma) attributed to Theropithecus sp. The attribution of the Pirro Nord vertebrae to this genus has been disputed on morphometric grounds, although their assignment to a large-bodied cercopithecid has remained undisputed. Here we report unpublished cervical vertebral specimens with a similar morphology and, given their significance for the paleobiogeography of Theropithecus (purportedly representing its earliest European record), we re-evaluate their taxonomic attribution. In particular, we reconsider the possibility that they belong to another non-primate mammal recorded at this site. Based on both qualitative and metric morphological comparisons, we strongly favor an alternative attribution of the cervical vertebrae from Pirro Nord to the large porcupine Hystrix refossa, which is widely documented at the site by both dentognathic and other postcranial remains. We therefore conclude that the dispersal of Theropithecus out of Africa before ca. 1 Ma (when it is recorded by dental remains from Cueva Victoria, Spain) is currently based only on the calcaneus from 'Ubeidiya tentatively attributed to this genus.
Grants:	Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CGL2011-28681 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CGL2010-15326 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad RYC-2009-04533 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2009/SGR-754 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2009/SGR-324
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió sotmesa a revisió
Subject:	Vertebrae ; Theropithecus ; Hystrix ; Fossil porcupines ; Early Pleistocene ; Italy
Published in:	Journal of human evolution, Vol 76 (Nov. 2014) , p. 92-106, ISSN 0047-2484

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.06.005

Preprint 42 p, 1.5 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles