Oreopithecus: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Extinct genus of hominid from the Miocene}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = [[Miocene]]<br/>9–7 Million years ago

| image = Oreopithecus bambolii 1.JPG

| image_caption = ''Oreopithecus bambolii'' fossil

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'''''Oreopithecus''''' (from the Greek {{lang|grc|[[wikt:ὄρος|ὄρος]]}}, {{transliteration|grc|oros}} and {{lang|grc|[[wikt:πίθηκος|πίθηκος]]}}, {{transliteration|grc|pithekos}}, meaning "hill-ape") is an [[extinction|extinct]] genus of [[hominoid]] [[primateape]] from the [[Miocene]] epoch whose [[fossil]]s have been found in today's [[Tuscany]] and [[Sardinia]] in [[Italy]].<ref name="NSW-20191223">{{cite news |last=Osbourne |first=Hannah |title=Strange swamp-dwelling prehistroic ape that counldn't walk on two legs or climb trees poses evolutionary puzzle |url=https://www.newsweek.com/strange-swamp-dwelling-prehistoric-ape-that-couldnt-walk-two-legs-climb-trees-poses-evolutionary-1478852 |date=December 23, 2019 |magazine=[[Newsweek]] |access-date=December 23, 2019 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> It existed nine to seven9–7 million years ago in the Tusco-Sardinian area when this region was an isolated island in a chain of islands stretching from [[central Europe]] to [[northern Africa]] in what was becoming the [[Mediterranean Sea]].{{efn|In what remained of the [[Tethys Sea]], or what was becoming the [[Mediterranean Sea]]; see [[Mediterranean Basin#Geology and paleoclimatology|Geology and paleoclimatology of the Mediterranean Basin]]; see also [[Messinian salinity crisis]].}}

''Oreopithecus'' was one of many European immigrants that settled this area in the [[Vallesian]]–[[Turolian]] transition and one of few hominoids, together with ''[[Sivapithecus]]'' in Asia, to survive the so-called [[Vallesian|Vallesian Crisis]].<ref name="Agustí">{{harvnb|Agustí|Antón|2002| pp=Prefix ''ix'', 174–175, 193, 197–199}}</ref> To date, dozens of individuals have been discovered at the [[Tuscany|Tuscan]] localities of <!-- ref for localities -->[[Montebamboli]], [[Montemassi]], Casteani, [[Ribolla]], and, most notably, in the fossil-rich lignite mine in the [[Baccinello|Baccinello Basin]],<ref name="Agustí" /> making it one of the best-represented fossil [[ape]]s.

==Evolutionary history==

''Oreopithecus bambolii'' was first described by French paleontologist [[Paul Gervais]] in 1872,<ref>Paul Gervais, 1872, "Sur un singe fossile, d'espèce non encore décrite, qui a été decouvert au Monte-Bamboli (Italie)", ''Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences''. '''74''': 1217–1223</ref><ref>Gervais, P. 1872. "Coup d'oeil sur les mammifères d'Ialie, suivie de la description d'une espèce nouvelle de singe provenant des lignites du Monte Bamboli". ''Journal de Zoologie'' '''1''': 219-235</ref> after the discovery of a juvenile mandible in a lignite mine at Montebamboli in 1862 by Tito Nardi, who donate the specimen to Professor [[Igino Cocchi]].<ref>Cioppi, E., Sozzi, M., & Pieraccioli, R. (2024). 150 years of discoveries, research and debates on Oreopitechus bambolii Gervais, 1872. Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 63(2), 110.</ref>. In 1890, nearly a dozen new specimens were reported by Guiseppe Ristori, among them an upper jaw.<ref>Ristori, G. 1890. "Le Scimmie fossile italiane". ''Bollettino del Reale Comitato geologico d'Italia''. '''21''': 178-196, 225-234</ref> In 1898, a left lower jaw was described by Felice Ottolenghi.<ref>Ottolenghi F. 1898. "Nota sopra una scimmia fossile italiana". ''Atti della Società Ligustica di Scienze Naturali e Geografiche'', '''9''': 399-403</ref> In 1907, Giuseppe Merciai reported four maxillae and a lower jaw from the Grosseto mine at Ribolla.<ref>Merciai G. 1907. "Sopra alcuni resti di vertebrati miocenici delle ligniti di Ribolla". ''Atti della Società Toscana di Scienze Naturali, Memorie, Serie A'', '''23''': 79-86</ref> During this period there was no consensus whether ''Oreopithecus'' was a monkey or an ape.<ref>Delson, E. 1986. "An anthropoid enigma: historical introduction to the study of ''Oreopithecus bambolii''". ''Journal of Human Evolution'' '''15''': 523–531</ref>

From 1949 onwards, Swiss paleontologist [[Johannes Hürzeler]] began to restudy the known material.<ref>Hürzeler J. 1949. "Neubeschreibung von ''Oreopithecus bambolii'' Gervais". ''Schweizerische Paläontologische Abhandlungen'', '''66''': 1-20</ref><ref>Hürzeler, J. 1952. "Contribution à l'étude de la dentition de lait d' ''Oreopithecus bambolii'' Gervais". ''Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae'' '''44''': 404-411</ref> In 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1958, he claimed ''Oreopithecus'' were a true hominin—based on its premolars, short jaws and reduced [[Canine tooth|canines]], at the time considered diagnostic of the hominin family.<ref>Hürzeler J. 1954. "Zur systematischen Stellung von ''Oreopithecus''". ''Verhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft (Basel)'' '''65''': 88–95</ref><ref>Hürzeler, J. 1956. "''Oreopithecus'', un point de repère pour l'histoire de l'humanité a l'ère Tertiare". ''Problèmes Actuels de Paléontologie'', pp. 115-121. Paris: CNRS</ref><ref>Johannes Hürzeler, 1958, "''Oreopithecus bambolii'' Gervais: a preliminary report", ''Verhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft Basel''. '''69''': 1–47</ref> This hypothesis immediately became a hotly discussed topic among his fellow paleontolgists.<ref>Koenigswald, G.H.R. von, I955, "Remarks on ''Oreopithecus''". ''Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche''. '''10''': 1-11</ref><ref>Viret, J. 1955. "A propos de l'Oreopithèque". ''Mammalia'' '''19''': 320-324</ref><ref>Remane, A. 1955. "Ist ''Oreopithecus'' ein Hominide?" ''Abhandlungen der Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur zu Mainz'' '''12''': 467-497</ref><ref>Loren C. Eiseley, 1956, "Oreopithecus: Humunculus or Monkey?", ''Scientific American'' '''194'''(6): 91-104</ref><ref>Straus W.L. Jr. 1957. "''Oreopithecus bambolii''". ''Science'' '''126''': 345-346</ref> When he toured the world to give a series of lectures, his views generated an enormous press coverage, often being presented as a challenge to the Darwinian descent of man from apes.<ref>Clara Florensa, 2016, "‘Darwin was Wrong.’ The International Media Coverage of the ''Oreopithecus''’ Reinterpretation (1956–1959)", ''Centaurus'' '''58'''(3): 219-238</ref> After Hürzeler was invited to give a lecture in [[New York (state)|New York]] in March 1956, the [[Wenner-Gren Foundation]] decided to finance excavations in Italy, with the cooperation of the Italian paleontologist [[Alberto Carlo Blanc]]. On 2 August 1958, Hürzeler's views seemed to be confirmed when he discovered a complete skeleton in [[Baccinello]],<ref>Straus W.L. Jr. 1958. "A new ''Oreopithecus'' skeleton". ''Science'' '''128''': 523</ref> which in 1960 he interpreted as a [[Bipedalism|biped]] because of the short [[pelvis]] was closer to those of hominins than those of [[chimpanzee]]s and [[gorilla]]s.<ref>Hürzeler, J. 1960. "The significance of ''Oreopithecus'' in the genealogy of man". ''Triangle'' '''4''': 164-175</ref> Hominin affinities claimed for ''Oreopithecus'' remained controversial for decades until new analyses in the 1990s reasserted that ''Oreopithecus'' was directly related to ''[[Dryopithecus]]''. The peculiar cranial and dental features were explained as consequences of [[Island|insular]] isolation.

This new evidence confirmed that ''Oreopithecus'' was bipedal but also revealed that its peculiar form of bipedalism was much different from that of ''[[Australopithecus]]''. The [[hallux]] formed a 100°&nbsp;angle with the other toes, which enabled the foot to act as a tripod in erect posture, but prevented ''Oreopithecus'' from developing a fast bipedal stride. When a land bridge broke the isolation of the Tusco-Sardinian area {{mya|6.5}}, large predators such as ''[[Machairodus]]'' and ''[[Metailurus]]'' were present among the new generation of European immigrants and ''Oreopithecus'' faced quick extinction together with other endemic genera.<ref name="Agustí"/><!-- ref for para, mostly pp. 197–199 -->{{efn|A parallel to the [[Great American Interchange]] two million years later.}}