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S Moyà-Solà

Publications and source records attributed to S Moyà-Solà.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Egarapithecus narcisoi, a new genus of Pliopithecidae (primates, catarrhini) from the Late Miocene of Spain.

Pliopithecid remains from the Spanish locality of Torrent de Febulines (Late Vallesian, MN 10), consisting of right and left mandibular fragments with partial tooth rows and an isolated P(3) probably belonging to the same individual, are described and assigned to Egarapithecus narcisoi gen. et sp. nov. (Pliopithecidae, Crouzeliinae). This is a highly derived species dated at around 9 Ma (Ma = 10(6) years), representing the latest appearance of the family in the European continent. Morphologically it is the most distant member from the inferred primitive pliopithecid morphotype, displaying many autapomorphies that notably accentuate those of the remaining Crouzeliinae. A cladistic analysis based on lower cheek teeth, performed in order to tentatively assess the phylogenetic relationships of Egarapithecus within the Crouzeliinae, indicates that several equally parsimonious cladograms are possible in the light of current evidence. This is due to uncertainties regarding the position of Plesiopliopithecus and Crouzelia (here considered distinct genera), as a result of missing characters and the significant degree of homoplasy apparently involved in crouzeliine dental evolution. Whether Egarapithecus is more closely related to Crouzelia or to Anapithecus (the latter hypothesis tentatively favored here) cannot be definitively resolved with the currently available material and deserves further investigation. It is clear, however, that Egarapithecus is one of the more derived and specialized members of the Pliopithecidae.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Brief communication: Cranial reconstruction of Dryopithecus.

This paper presents the first three-dimensional reconstruction of the cranium of the European Miocene ape, Dryopithecus. The reconstruction is based on remains collected from Can Llobateres, Spain (CLI 18000; Dryopithecus laietanus), D. fontani (St. Gaudens), and D. brancoi (Kordos and Begun [1997] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 103:277-294). Previously unrecognized facial fragments from CLI 18000 were included in the reconstruction. The result shows that Dryopithecus had a relatively short face, with a rather short and well-rounded neurocranium. From the lateral perspective, the face is concave at midface, and on the cranium the temporal lines run parallel to each other without forming a sagittal crest.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Canine reduction in the miocene hominoid Oreopithecus bambolii: behavioural and evolutionary implications.

The degree of canine size sexual dimorphism and relative canine size, which have been related to levels of agonistic behaviour amongst living anthropoid primates, together with relative molar size, are evaluated in the fossil hominoid Oreopithecus bambolii from the Late Miocene of Italy. Although Oreopithecus displays a significant degree of canine height sexual dimorphism, using allometric techniques and body mass estimates for fossil species, it is shown that Oreopithecus males are microdont (smaller postcanine as well as canine teeth than expected) when compared to most living hominoids and its putative ancestor Dryopithecus. Canine reduction in Oreopithecus includes both crown height and, especially, basal area, and most closely resembles the condition found in the pygmy chimpanzee Pan paniscus. Interestingly, it had been previously proposed that Oreopithecus displays, like pygmy chimpanzees, a paedomorphic cranial morphology resulting in a reduction of facial prognathism, which could be related to microdontia in both taxa. Independent canine reduction in several anthropoid lineages (including hominids and P. paniscus) has been related to a relaxation of the selection pressure favouring canine use as a weapon. Although changes in socio-sexual behaviour, as documented in P. paniscus, cannot be currently discarded in Oreopithecus, canine reduction could be also alternatively (although not exclusively) interpreted as an aspect of generalized microdontia. The latter is best considered an adaptive readjustment required by the paedomorphic reduction of prognathism and the resulting lack of space to accommodate the adult dentition. This mechanism of canine reduction highlights the significance of developmental constraints in evolution and had not been previously suggested for any anthropoid primate.

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PubMed1999

A finding of oligocene primates on the European continent.

In this paper, we provide evidence that contrary to the current view, primates on the European continent did survive the dramatic extinction/origination event across the Eocene/Oligocene boundary 34 million years ago that severely affected the Eurasian mammal communities (the European "Grande Coupure" and the Asian "Mongolian Remodeling"). The survival of a mouse-sized omomyid for at least 2 million years, recorded in two localities of the Lower Stampian (Lower Oligocene) in a well dated stratigraphic series of fluviatile sediments in the north oriental sector of the Ebro Basin (Northeastern Spain), reflects the size-related survival pattern described recently for other coeval mammalian taxa.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Oreopithecus was a bipedal ape after all: evidence from the iliac cancellous architecture.

Textural properties and functional morphology of the hip bone cancellous network of Oreopithecus bambolii, a 9- to 7-million-year-old Late Miocene hominoid from Italy, provide insights into the postural and locomotor behavior of this fossil ape. Digital image processing of calibrated hip bone radiographs reveals the occurrence of trabecular features, which, in humans and fossil hominids, are related to vertical support of the body weight, i.e., to bipedality.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Ape-like or hominid-like? The positional behavior of Oreopithecus bambolii reconsidered.

Comparative morphological and functional analyses of the skeletal remains of Oreopithecus bambolii, a hominoid from the Miocene Mediterranean island of Tuscany-Sardinia (Italy), provides evidence that bipedal activities made up a significant part of the positional behavior of this primate. The mosaic pattern of its postcranial morphology is to some degree convergent with that of Australopithecus and functionally intermediate between apes and early hominids. Some unique traits could have been selected only under insular conditions where the absence of predators and the limitation of trophic resources play a crucial role in mammalian evolution.

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PubMed1996

A Dryopithecus skeleton and the origins of great-ape locomotion.

The evolution of skeletal adaptations to orthograde postures, characteristic of extant hominoids, is of great interest as it provides the key to understanding the origins of apes and humans. We report here the recent discovery of an extraordinary partial skeleton of Dryopithecus laietanus from Can Llobateres (Spain). It provides evidence that orthograde postures and locomotion appeared at least 9.5 million years ago. Our results indicate that the body structure of this Miocene ape closely resembles that of extant hominoids and differs from the pronograde pattern of Miocene proconsulids in a set of important morphological characters. Dryopithecus also shows more traits reflecting structural adaptations for suspension than occurs in African apes. A similar positional behaviour is inferred for Sivapithecus indicus, thus strengthening previous hypotheses linking both Miocene forms with Pongo.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dental microwear variability on buccal tooth enamel surfaces of extant Catarrhini and the Miocene fossil Dryopithecus laietanus (Hominoidea).

Analyses of buccal tooth microwear have been used to trace dietary habits of modern hunter-gatherer populations. In these populations, the average density and length of striations on the buccal surfaces of teeth are significantly cor-related with the abrasive potential of food items consumed. In non-human pri-mates, tooth microwear patterns on both occlusal and buccal wear facets have been thoroughly studied and the results applied to the characterization of dietary habits of fossil species. In this paper, we present inter- and intra-specific buccal microwear variability analyses in extant Cercopithecoidea (Cercopithecus mitis, C. neglectus, Chlorocebus aethiops, Colobus spp., Papio anubis) and Hominoidea (Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, Pongo pygmaeus). The results are tentatively compared to buccal microwear patterns of the Miocene fossils Dryopithecus and Oreopithecus. Significant differences in striation density and length are found among the fossil taxa studied and the extant primates, suggesting that buccal microwear can be used to identify dietary differences among taxa. The Dryopithecus buccal microwear pattern most closely resembles that of abrasive, tough plant foods consumers, such as the gorilla, in contrast to stud-ies of dental morphology that suggest a softer, frugivorous diet. Results for Oreopithecus were equivocal, but suggest a more abrasive diet than that previously thought.

Analysis of Variance↗