The reconstructed cranium of Pierolapithecus and the evolution of the great ape face
Pugh, Kelsey D. (City University of New York)
Catalano, Santiago Andres (Universidad Nacional de Tucumán)
Pérez de los Ríos, Miriam (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
Fortuny, Josep (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Shearer, Brian M. (New York University)
Vecino Gazabón, Alessandra (American Museum of Natural History)
Hammond, Ashley S. (American Museum of Natural History)
Moyà Solà, Salvador (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Alba, David M. (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Almécija, Sergio (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Date:	2023
Abstract:	Pierolapithecus catalaunicus (~12 million years ago, northeastern Spain) is key to understanding the mosaic nature of hominid (great ape and human) evolution. Notably, its skeleton indicates that an orthograde (upright) body plan preceded suspensory adaptations in hominid evolution. However, there is ongoing debate about this species, partly because the sole known cranium, preserving a nearly complete face, suffers from taphonomic damage. We 1) carried out a micro computerized tomography (CT) based virtual reconstruction of the Pierolapithecus cranium, 2) assessed its morphological affinities using a series of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) morphometric analyses, and 3) modeled the evolution of key aspects of ape face form. The reconstruction clarifies many aspects of the facial morphology of Pierolapithecus. Our results indicate that it is most similar to great apes (fossil and extant) in overall face shape and size and is morphologically distinct from other Middle Miocene apes. Crown great apes can be distinguished from other taxa in several facial metrics (e. g. , low midfacial prognathism, relatively tall faces) and only some of these features are found in Pierolapithecus, which is most consistent with a stem (basal) hominid position. The inferred morphology at all ancestral nodes within the hominoid (ape and human) tree is closer to great apes than to hylobatids (gibbons and siamangs), which are convergent with other smaller anthropoids. Our analyses support a hominid ancestor that was distinct from all extant and fossil hominids in overall facial shape and shared many features with Pierolapithecus. This reconstructed ancestral morphotype represents a testable hypothesis that can be reevaluated as new fossils are discovered.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-116908GB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-117289GB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-117118GB-I00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-01184 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-01188 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00620 Agencia Estatal de Investigación RYC2021-032857-I
Note:	Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya
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 publicada
Published in:	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 120, Num. 44 (October 2023) , art. e2218778120, ISSN 1091-6490

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218778120
PMID: 37844214

12 p, 3.5 MB

The record appears in these collections:
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