First joint record of Mesopithecus and cf. Macaca in the Miocene of Europe

Abstract

Cercopithecid fossil remains from the post-evaporitic Messinian (5.40-5.33 Ma, MN13, latest Turolian, latest Miocene) locality of Moncucco Torinese (Tertiary Piedmont Basin, NW Italy) are described. A talus is assigned to the fossil colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus, while a proximal fragment of ulna and a male lower canine are attributed to cf. Me. pentelicus. An isolated I(2) and M3 are assigned to the papionin cf. Macaca sp., and two cercopithecid phalanges are left unassigned even to the subfamily level. The record of Mesopithecus at Moncucco Torinese agrees well with the previously-known range of this species in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, whereas that of cf. Macaca constitutes only the second occurrence of macaques in the Miocene of Eurasia. Although the co-occurrence of these two genera in a single locality had been previously reported in the Pliocene, this is the first instance in which macaques are associated with the Late Miocene M. pentelicus instead of Mesopithecus monspessulanus. The record of cf. Macaca and Mesopithecus-and especially the latter's talar morphology, similar to that of extant arboreal colobines-fits well with paleoenvironmental reconstructions of Moncucco Torinese based on the associated fauna, which indicate a humid and densely-forested environment, probably with more open and drier habitats nearby. From a paleobiogeographic viewpoint, the record of Macaca at Moncucco Torinese, together with the previously reported occurrence at Almenara-Casablanca M (Spain), supports the contention that macaques dispersed from Africa into Europe during the latest Miocene (ca. 5.9-5.3 Ma) at the same time as the sea level drop associated with the Messinian Salinity Crisis.

Macaques at the margins: the biogeography and extinction of Macaca sylvanus in Europe

“…Often described as 'macaquelike', Mesopithecus was likely to have used arboreal substrates but was also terrestrially adept (Youlatos et al 2012;Alba et al 2014). Although the ancestral locomotor condition of Mesopithecus is still far from clear, it is likely that its locomotor flexibility contributed significantly to its ability to disperse into Eurasia and exploit the varied environments it found there (Youlatos et al 2012), reinforced by the relatively catholic nature of its diet (Merceron et al, 2009).…”

“…Macaca first appeared in Europe during the latest Miocene (Delson, 1974;Köhler et al 2000;Alba et al 2014), after the dispersal of Mesopithecus, and survived there until the late Pleistocene (Fooden, 2007). The apes and pliopithecoids became extinct in Europe in the mid Late Miocene, with the last known specimens dated to around 7 million years ago (Begun, 2002;Casanovas-Vilar et al, 2011), around one million years before macaques dispersed into Europe.…”

Messinian rodents from Moncucco Torinese, NW Italy: palaeobiodiversity and biochronology

“…The assignment to the upper part of MN13 is also corroborated by the occurrence of other mammal taxa from the same layers such as Prolagus sorbinii and Mesopithecus pentelicus (Angelone et al 2011). The latter species has not been found in any European Ruscinian locality (Alba et al 2014).…”

“…The most conspicuous assemblages known to date are those of Baccinello V3 in Tuscany (Engesser 1983(Engesser , 1989Kotsakis et al 1997;Rook et al 1999;Rook et al 2011) and Monticino quarry (Brisighella) in Romagna (De Giuli 1989;Kotsakis 1989;Torre 1989;Masini & Thomas 1989). More recently, two additional localities, Verduno (Colombero et al , 2014 and MCC (Angelone et al 2011), have been discovered in the latest Messinian deposits of the Tertiary Piedmont Basin (TPB), NW Italy, thereby filling a broad gap in our knowledge of the fossil vertebrate faunas from this poorly known area. A cursory analysis of the vertebrate remains from MCC was recently carried out based on a…”

Nasal architecture in <i>Procynocephalus wimani</i> (Early Pleistocene, China) and implications for its phyletic relationship with <i>Paradolichopithecus</i>

“…The tribe Papionini was separated from the Cercopithecini, and then two subtribes, Papionina and Macanina, arose in the Late Miocene in Africa (Harris, 2000;Tosi et al, 2003;Raaum et al, 2005;Springer et al, 2012). While Macaca dispersed into Europe from Africa during the latest Miocene (Alba et al, 2014), papionins diversified abundantly and achieved successful radiation under diverse ecological environments in Africa in the Plio-Pleistocene, and some of them probably have descendants in Eurasia for each subtribe (Szalay and Delson, 1979;Gilbert, 2013). European Para.…”