TY - JOUR
T1 - The earliest most complete skeleton of Theropithecus
AU - Frost, Stephen R.
AU - Jablonski, Nina G.
AU - Haile-Selassie, Yohannes
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful to co-editor in chief Andrea Taylor, the Associate Editor, and two anonymous reviewers, whose careful and constructive comments greatly improved the clarity and effectiveness of this paper. Any remaining faults are entirely our own. We thank the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the government of the Afar Regional State of Ethiopia for facilitating fieldwork permits. We also thank Sahleselassie Melaku, Getahun Tekle, and Thomas Getachew of the Paleoanthropology Laboratory of the National Museum of Ethiopia for laboratory space and access to the original fossil specimens, field participants of the Woranso-Mille Project for the fossil discoveries, Liz Russell and Hailay Reda for photography, and Mauricio Antón for the reconstruction of ARI-VP-1/26. We are grateful to Theresa Wilson for assistance editing many of the figures that involve photographs. Emily Guthrie, Nelson Ting, and Terry Harrison shared data included in Figure 4. Emily Guthrie also shared data included in Table 8 and SOM Table S2. Grants from the National Science Foundation (BCS-0234320, BCS-0542037, BCS-1124705, BCS-1124713, BCS-1124716, BCS-1125157, and BCS-1125345), the Leakey Foundation, the National Geographic Society, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation to Y.H.S. supported the field and laboratory work. Faculty Research Awards to S.R.F. supported laboratory work at the NME.
Funding Information:
We are grateful to co-editor in chief Andrea Taylor, the Associate Editor, and two anonymous reviewers, whose careful and constructive comments greatly improved the clarity and effectiveness of this paper. Any remaining faults are entirely our own. We thank the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the government of the Afar Regional State of Ethiopia for facilitating fieldwork permits. We also thank Sahleselassie Melaku, Getahun Tekle, and Thomas Getachew of the Paleoanthropology Laboratory of the National Museum of Ethiopia for laboratory space and access to the original fossil specimens, field participants of the Woranso-Mille Project for the fossil discoveries, Liz Russell and Hailay Reda for photography, and Mauricio Antón for the reconstruction of ARI-VP-1/26. We are grateful to Theresa Wilson for assistance editing many of the figures that involve photographs. Emily Guthrie, Nelson Ting, and Terry Harrison shared data included in Figure 4 . Emily Guthrie also shared data included in Table 8 and SOM Table S2 . Grants from the National Science Foundation ( BCS-0234320 , BCS-0542037 , BCS-1124705 , BCS-1124713 , BCS-1124716 , BCS-1125157 , and BCS-1125345 ), the Leakey Foundation , the National Geographic Society , and the Wenner-Gren Foundation to Y.H.S. supported the field and laboratory work. Faculty Research Awards to S.R.F. supported laboratory work at the NME.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - The middle Pliocene site of Woranso-Mille in the Afar Region of Ethiopia has yielded numerous significant early hominin fossils representing multiple, coexisting taxa. Here we report on another significant discovery, the oldest partial skeleton of the papionin, Theropithecus. The specimen was recovered from the Aralee Issie collection area over multiple field seasons from 2004 through 2019. The specimen was unearthed in situ from the fluvial facies of the Mesgid Dora Tuff dated to 3.66–3.57 Ma. The partial skeleton, ARI-VP-1/26, is that of a subadult male lacking a skull. In the absence of unambiguously associated craniodental remains, the male status of the specimen was established from the dimensions of the long bones in comparison to those of other Theropithecus from Woranso-Mille. ARI-VP-1/26 is noteworthy because it preserves partial hand and foot skeletons, including a complete set of metacarpals from the left side. The theropith status of ARI-VP-1/26 was established based on the detailed anatomy of the postcranial skeleton, especially the proximal and distal humerus, proximal radius, and proximal femur. The morphology of the postcranium of ARI-VP-1/26 is consistent with that of recognized Theropithecus from Woranso-Mille and, specifically, with specimens recognized as Theropithecus oswaldi cf. darti from other sites. The ratio of the lengths of the first metacarpal to metacarpals 2–5 in ARI-VP-1/26 is intermediate between that seen in extant Papio and Theropithecus. In Theropithecus gelada and Theropithecus brumpti, the pairing of pollical and indical metacarpals of near equal length contributes to the species' high opposability index and is associated with a ‘manual grazing’ feeding habit. Cercopithecids constitute 43% of the identified vertebrates at Aralee Issie, and T. oswaldi cf. darti is the most common mammalian species. The monkeys of Aralee Issie lived in an open shrubland habitat, but the specific reasons for their high prevalence at the site are unclear.
AB - The middle Pliocene site of Woranso-Mille in the Afar Region of Ethiopia has yielded numerous significant early hominin fossils representing multiple, coexisting taxa. Here we report on another significant discovery, the oldest partial skeleton of the papionin, Theropithecus. The specimen was recovered from the Aralee Issie collection area over multiple field seasons from 2004 through 2019. The specimen was unearthed in situ from the fluvial facies of the Mesgid Dora Tuff dated to 3.66–3.57 Ma. The partial skeleton, ARI-VP-1/26, is that of a subadult male lacking a skull. In the absence of unambiguously associated craniodental remains, the male status of the specimen was established from the dimensions of the long bones in comparison to those of other Theropithecus from Woranso-Mille. ARI-VP-1/26 is noteworthy because it preserves partial hand and foot skeletons, including a complete set of metacarpals from the left side. The theropith status of ARI-VP-1/26 was established based on the detailed anatomy of the postcranial skeleton, especially the proximal and distal humerus, proximal radius, and proximal femur. The morphology of the postcranium of ARI-VP-1/26 is consistent with that of recognized Theropithecus from Woranso-Mille and, specifically, with specimens recognized as Theropithecus oswaldi cf. darti from other sites. The ratio of the lengths of the first metacarpal to metacarpals 2–5 in ARI-VP-1/26 is intermediate between that seen in extant Papio and Theropithecus. In Theropithecus gelada and Theropithecus brumpti, the pairing of pollical and indical metacarpals of near equal length contributes to the species' high opposability index and is associated with a ‘manual grazing’ feeding habit. Cercopithecids constitute 43% of the identified vertebrates at Aralee Issie, and T. oswaldi cf. darti is the most common mammalian species. The monkeys of Aralee Issie lived in an open shrubland habitat, but the specific reasons for their high prevalence at the site are unclear.
KW - Africa
KW - Cercopithecidae
KW - Manual foraging
KW - Paleoenvironment
KW - Pliocene
KW - Woranso-Mille
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103370
DO - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103370
M3 - Article
C2 - 37167814
AN - SCOPUS:85158866332
SN - 0047-2484
VL - 180
JO - Journal of human evolution
JF - Journal of human evolution
M1 - 103370
ER -