Bollettino SPI Vol. 63 (2) - OPEN ACCESS!
Oreopithecus150 a Miocene hominoid enshrouded in a 150-years-long mystery
Published in September 2024
Guest Editors:
Luca Bellucci, Fabio Di Vincenzo & Andrea Savorelli
Index
- Di Vincenzo F., Bellucci L. & Savorelli A. (2024)
In praise of Oreopithecus. A Miocene primate enshrouded in a 150-year-long mystery
pp. 101-107
doi:10.4435/BSPI.2024.12
- Cioppi E., Sozzi M. & Pieraccioli R. (2024)
150 years of discoveries, research, and debates on Oreopithecus bambolii Gervais, 1872
pp. 109-118
doi:10.4435/BSPI.2024.11
A brief review of the studies and historical context of the Miocene ape Oreopithecus bambolii Gervais, 1872 is undertaken to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the species by Gervais in 1872, in the frame of the conference held on 20-21 October 2022 at the Università degli Studi di Firenze, where the holotype is preserved. The discovery of the jaw type in the Montebamboli lignite mine (Massa Marittima, Tuscany) by Tito Nardi marked an epoch-making turning point for the study of primate origins. From its first appearance to the present day, this Miocene ape has been the subject of great debate, triggered by its unique endemic features.
- Dominici S. & Benvenuti M. (2024)
Two alternative ages for the Montebamboli Oreopithecus (Late Miocene, Tuscany)
pp. 119-136
doi: 10.4435/BSPI.2024.04
19th century scientists concerned with the interpretation of well and outcrop data collected during mining activities in southern Tuscany (Italy) agreed on the isochrony of the Montebamboli, Casteani, Ribolla and Montemassi Late Miocene black lignite and fetid limestone. The associated faunal and floral remains from the four localities, including the primate Oreopithecus bambolii Gervais, 1872, first described from a fossil collected at Montebamboli, were similarly interpreted as coeval. A second wave of scientists reconsidered the Montebamboli fossils during the 1950s, expanded the research to the Baccinello area, further south, and interpreted the Late Miocene record of Tuscany to signal instances of phyletic transitions among insular species. On the basis of palaeontological data, without discussing the correlations emerged during mining activities, the Montebamboli fauna was interpreted as a fauna younger than the fauna associated with the Casteani and Baccinello black lignite. The new point of view justified a palaeobiogeographic scenario characterised by multiple immigrations from the continental mainland to an insular Tuscan bioprovince, and from there to Sardinia, where an analogous Late Miocene Oreopithecus-associated insular fauna has been meanwhile studied. Based on old and new field data, the isochronic interpretation of the Montebamboli and Casteani black lignite is here resumed and an alternative palaeobiogeographic scenario is proposed, in the attempt to minimise inconsistencies that stem from the more recent school of thought. The alternative scenario points to a single phase of Tusco-Sardinian insularism bracketed between two intervals of faunal interchange when Tuscany and Sardinia came in contact with the continental mainland. Insularism took place within a single large island, or a single larger archipelago comprising southern Tuscany, Corsica and Sardinia, existing before and shortly after the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea during the Tortonian.
- Sineo L., Zanolli C., Micciché R.M., Santaluna G., Lauria G., Vita G., Di Patti C. & Moggi Checchi J. (2024)
An Oreopithecus bambolii jaw in the Museum “Giorgio G. Gemmellaro” in Palermo
pp. 137-143
doi: 10.4435/BSPI.2024.07
In this contribution we describe a specimen attributed to Oreopithecus bambolii Gervais, 1872 (Primates), preliminarily reported in the 1990’s by E. Burgio, the then-curator of the Gemmellaro Museum in Palermo. It is a portion of a maxilla bearing the erupted right second molar, as well as the unerupted right canine and third molar, all excellently preserved. The fragment has been compared with specimens preserved in the Museum of Paleontology in Florence. It shows an overall appearance and taphonomic features that match those of the specimens from the lignite mines near Grosseto in Tuscany. Basic metric surveys and a microCT scan were carried out on the sample. The Museum’s records do not allow us to define precisely how the specimen was acquired, but we report some research carried out in the archives at Palermo and Florence, in relation to a possible exchange that took place in the 1870’s, between the then-directors G.G. Gemmellaro and I. Cocchi.
- Cieszynska W.K. (2024)
Odontometric overview of Oreopithecus bambolii from Tuscany and Sardinia
pp. 145-151
doi: 10.4435/BSPI.2024.05
Oreopithecus bambolii Gervais, 1872 is a primate characterized by numerous anatomical specializations which are a result of its evolution in an endemic environment. The dental morphology of this primate is also very specific, being a mosaic of traits typical for the Catarrhini as well as primitive ones. The main objective of this research is to describe the odontometric traits of Oreopithecus bambolii. A total of 285 dental elements from specimens from Tuscany and Sardinia were measured and morphometrically analysed. This species possessed also primitive traits, among which are the long and narrow lower molars and the lower molars larger than the upper molars. However, these traits may also be classified as adaptations to a folivorous diet. In this case, it is challenging to differentiate between adaptations to the insular environment and traits that may be considered as useful in phylogenetic reconstruction. Morphometrically the analyses did not reveal any significant difference in the length of the molars among populations from different Tuscan and Sardinia localities.
- Alba D.M., Urcioli A., Hammond A.S., Almécija S., Rook L. & Zanolli C. (2024)
Miocene ape evolution: Where does Oreopithecus fit in?
pp. 153-182
doi: 10.4435/BSPI.2024.01
Oreopithecus bambolii Gervais, 1872, from the Late Miocene of Tusco-Sardinia, is the latest non-cercopithecoid catarrhine from Europe. Its geographic and phylogenetic origins remain uncertain despite being well known from craniodental and postcranial remains. Currently, there is a general agreement about its hominoid status (ape and human clade) but uncertainties persist regarding its specific relationships with other fossil and living apes. In the 1990s, Oreopithecus was considered a stem hominid (great ape and human clade) likely derived from dryopithecines (Middle to Late Miocene hominids from Europe). In contrast, recent cladistic analyses recovered Oreopithecus as a derived nyanzapithecid (Early to Late Miocene putative stem hominoids from Africa). In turn, other studies hinted at a closer link with hylobatids (lesser apes). Given seemingly abundant homoplasy (false homology) in features related to orthogrady (upright body posture and locomotion), the Oreopithecus postcranium is compatible with being a stem or a crown hominoid. Craniodental evidence, in contrast, is at odds with a dryopithecine origin. A link with African nyanzapithecids seems more plausible based on dental morphology but hypothesized homologies deserve further investigation. In addition, preliminary analyses of tooth endostructure suggest similarities between Oreopithecus and pliopithecoids (putative stem catarrhines from the Miocene of Eurasia). The main branching topology of the hominoid total group (the divergence of hylobatids relative to putative stem hominoids from the Miocene of Africa) is far from being conclusively resolved due to abundant missing data and pervasive postcranial homoplasy between hylobatids and hominids, which might be causing a long-branch attraction problem. Hence, the hypothesized phylogenetic link between Oreopithecus and nyanzapithecids must not necessarily imply a stem hominoid status: given the long ghost lineage of hylobatids and the aforementioned long-branch attraction problem, a stem hylobatid status cannot be ruled out for nyanzapithecids. Previous difficulties to conclusively determine where Oreopithecus fits in hominoid phylogeny might simply stem from the need to shoehorn this taxon into broadly inaccurate Miocene ape phylogenetic schemes. Rather than considering Oreopithecus an oddball that deserves ad hoc explanations, this Late Miocene ape might be one of the key pieces needed to decipher the as yet unresolved puzzle of Miocene ape phylogeny.
- DeMiguel D. & Rook L. (2024)
An updated overview on the extinction of Oreopithecus bambolii
pp. 183-192
doi: 10.4435/BSPI.2024.06
Oreopithecus bambolii, the large-bodied endemic ape that lived in the Tusco-Sardinian bioprovince during the Late Miocene (ca. 8.2-6.7 Ma; Turolian), has been for more than half a century, and despite being one of the most complete hominoids in the fossil record, the focus of great controversy over its phylogenetic status, postural/locomotor behaviour, and extinction in an insular context. In reference to the latter issue, O. bambolii went extinct at ca. 6.7 Ma, being the last hominoid to survive in Europe, but it has remained unresolved —primarily because its environmental context and ecological needs have not been until recently clearly investigated— as to whether its extinction was due to a marked shift in climate and environments or, instead, to intensive interaction with an invading faunal complex from mainland Italy. The present work seeks to review the main hypotheses that there have been proposed to determine Oreopithecus’ extinction and, in the light of recent data, to reevaluate the most viable explanation for its disappearance. Multiple lines of evidence have reported the existence of a shift in climate throughout the Baccinello-Cinigiano sequence. However, recent views showed that although environmental shifts did indeed take place, the floral composition spanning the extinction event (level V3; 6.7-6.4 Ma) was similar to that of previous ecosystems (level V1; 8.3-8.1 Ma) inhabited by Oreopithecus. Moreover, its dietary versatility —wider than previously thought— was very likely an integral part of adaptations of Oreopithecus to cope with changes in the habitats under which it lived. Collectively, this suggests that the environmental change, even though it did indeed take place, was not significant enough to deeply affect Oreopithecus’ lifestyle. Hence, faunal interaction (both competition and predation) with invading species can be considered as the most feasible explanation for the decline and disappearance of O. bambolii and associated fauna.
- Martinetto E., Bellucci L., Denk T., Dominici S., Savorelli A. & Cioppi E.(2024)
Sabal leaves and associated Late Miocene palaeoflora of Montebamboli
(Massa Marittima, Grosseto, Italy)
pp. 193-214
doi: 10.4435/BSPI.2024.13
The Late Miocene flora of Montebamboli in Tuscany was described in the classical work of Gaudin and Strozzi from the second half of the 19th century. Since then, it has never been revised. The Montebamboli locality is most famous for the occurrence of the hominoid Oreopithecus bambolii and hence a reappraisal of its flora can shed new light on the environments in which this hominoid thrived. The revised palaeobotanical record of Montebamboli suggests that the leaf assemblage is dominated by elements typical of riparian and swamp forest (Alnus, Acer, Salix, Platanus, etc.). The palm Sabal, which is represented by numerous fossil leaves, is also characteristic of riparian vegetation. The poor record of the mesophytic vegetation thriving on well-drained soils, further away from the zone of deposition, is represented by Fagus (beech) and an enigmatic chestnut-like oak (Quercus gigas). Along with the previously published palynological record, including additional ferns, Cyperaceae, and Zingiberaceae, it appears that food sources for Oreopithecus would have comprised a wealth of tubers, fruits (nuts and acorns of beech, oak and hazelnut), and drupes of Sabal. The flora of Montebamboli represents an impoverished version of a typical Late Miocene flora of the western and central parts of the northern Mediterranean region. The composition of the flora supports the idea that the Montebamboli lignites and the adjacent Baccinello lignites are coeval.