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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
Palaeontological evidence for an Oligocene divergence between Old World monkeys and apes
Nature, Volume 497, No. 7451, Year 2013
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Description
Apes and Old World monkeys are prominent components of modern African and Asian ecosystems, yet the earliest phases of their evolutionary history have remained largely undocumented. The absence of crown catarrhine fossils older than ∼20 million years (Myr) has stood in stark contrast to molecular divergence estimates of ∼25-30 Myr for the split between Cercopithecoidea (Old World monkeys) and Hominoidea (apes), implying long ghost lineages for both clades. Here we describe the oldest known fossil 'ape', represented by a partial mandible preserving dental features that place it with 'nyanzapithecine' stem hominoids. Additionally, we report the oldest stem member of the Old World monkey clade, represented by a lower third molar. Both specimens were recovered from a precisely dated 25.2-Myr-old stratum in the Rukwa Rift, a segment of the western branch of the East African Rift in Tanzania. These finds extend the fossil record of apes and Old World monkeys well into the Oligocene epoch of Africa, suggesting a possible link between diversification of crown catarrhines and changes in the African landscape brought about by previously unrecognized tectonic activity in the East African rift system. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Stevens, Nancy Jeanne
United States, Athens
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
United States, Athens
Ohio University
Seiffert, Erik R.
United States, Stony Brook
Stony Brook University
O'Connor, Patrick Michael
United States, Athens
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
United States, Athens
Ohio University
Roberts, Eric M.
Australia, Townsville
James Cook University
Schmitz, Mark D.
United States, Boise
Boise State University
Krause, Cornelia
United States, Athens
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
United States, Athens
Ohio University
Gorscak, Eric
United States, Athens
Ohio University
Ngasala, Sifa E.
United States, East Lansing
Michigan State University
Hieronymus, Tobin Lee
United States, Rootstown
Northeast Ohio Medical University Neomed
Temu, Joseph
Tanzania, Dar es Salaam
Tanzania Antiquities Unit
Statistics
Citations: 173
Authors: 10
Affiliations: 8
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/nature12161
ISSN:
00280836
e-ISSN:
14764687
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Study Locations
Tanzania