Tag Archives: Hominoids

Stones tools from Pliocene hominins in Northwest India dated to 2.6 million years ago

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631068315002286

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631068315002304

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631068315001165

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631068315002110

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631068315002237

http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/hollande-modi-hail-indo-french-team-s-findings-at-govt-museum/story-jfrxGfU8zR2cY3Qc4q4ihM.html

http://www.lepoint.fr/science/une-espece-humaine-serait-elle-egalement-nee-au-pied-de-l-himalaya-27-01-2016-2013065_25.php

 

Geoscience seminar TODAY / Leena Sukselainen

Dear all,

The Geoscience Seminar TODAY is given by Leena Sukselainen. Leena works as a PhD student in our department and she is going to present us part of her thesis work.

Friday, 23.10.
Time: 14.15
Location: D114 Physicum, Kumpula Campus

Title: CO-OCCURRENCE OF PLIOPITHECOID AND HOMINOID PRIMATES IN FOSSIL RECORD: AN ECOMETRIC ANALYSIS (abstract below)

All are welcome!

Anu

***

Both pliopithecoid and hominoid primates were widely distributed throughout Eurasia during the Miocene, but are known to have coexisted only at a few localities. It has been speculated that their different habitat preferences permitted only minimal overlap under special environmental conditions. Here, we study the context for pliopithecoid and hominoid co-occurrence by assessing taxonomically-based palaeoecological diversity of associated fossil mammals, as well as through direct ecometric analysis based on hypsodonty of mammalian herbivores. Our results show that pliopithecoids persistently inhabited more humid environments compared to other primate groups studied, suggesting an inability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The opportunity for hominoids and pliopithecoids to co-occur appears to have been restricted by the niche conservatism in the latter group. Our study also indicates that direct ecometric analysis gives a better separation of the ecological preferences of these primate clades than do analyses of taxonomically-based community structure.

 

Co-occurrence of pliopithecoid and hominoid primates in the fossil record: An ecometric analysis

Co-occurrence of pliopithecoid and hominoid primates in the fossil record: An ecometric analysis
Leena Sukselainen, Mikael Fortelius, Terry Harrison
Journal of Human Evolution, Available online 14 May 2015

Both pliopithecoid and hominoid primates were widely distributed throughout Eurasia during the Miocene but are known to have coexisted at only a few localities. It has been speculated that their different habitat preferences permitted only minimal overlap under special environmental conditions. Here we study the context for pliopithecoid and hominoid co-occurrence by assessing taxonomically-based palaeoecological diversity of associated fossil mammals and by direct ecometric analysis based on hypsodonty of mammalian herbivores. Our results show that pliopithecoids persistently inhabited more humid environments compared to the other primate groups studied, suggesting an inability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The opportunity for hominoids and pliopithecoids to co-occur appears to have been restricted by niche conservatism in the latter group. Our study also indicates that direct ecometric analysis gives a better separation of the ecological preferences of these primate clades than do analyses of taxonomically-based community structure.

Eat Nuts.. or.. Grass? Huh?

Thure E. Cerling, Emma Mbua, Francis M. Kirera, Fredrick Kyalo Manthi, Frederick E. Grine, Meave G. Leakey, Matt Sponheimer, and Kevin T. Uno

Diet of Paranthropus boisei in the early Pleistocene of East Africa
PNAS 2011 ; published ahead of print May 2, 2011, doi:10.1073/pnas.1104627108

Abstract

The East African hominin Paranthropus boisei was characterized by
a suite of craniodental features that have been widely interpreted
as adaptations to a diet that consisted of hard objects that required
powerful peak masticatory loads. These morphological adaptations
represent the culmination of an evolutionary trend that
began in earlier taxa such as Australopithecus afarensis, and presumably
facilitated utilization of open habitats in the Plio-Pleistocene.
Here, we use stable isotopes to show that P. boisei had a diet
that was dominated by C4 biomass such as grasses or sedges. Its
diet included more C4 biomass than any other hominin studied
to date, including its congener Paranthropus robustus from South
Africa. These results, coupled with recent evidence from dental
microwear, may indicate that the remarkable craniodental morphology
of this taxon represents an adaptation for processing
large quantities of low-quality vegetation rather than hard objects.