Oreopithecus
Oreopithecus (from the Greek ὄρος, oros and πίθηκος, pithekos, meaning "hill-ape") is an extinct genus of hominoid primate from the Miocene epoch whose fossils have been found in today's Tuscany and Sardinia in Italy.[2] To date, dozens of individuals have been discovered at the Tuscan localities of Montebamboli, Montemassi, Casteani, Ribolla, and, most notably, in the fossil-rich lignite mine in the Baccinello Basin,[2] making it one of the best-represented fossil apes.Oreopithecus bambolii was first described by French paleontologist Paul Gervais in 1872,[3][4] 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.[20] After Hürzeler was invited to give a lecture in 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.The hallux formed a 100° 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 6.5 million years ago, 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.[2] Some have suggested the unique locomotory behavior of Oreopithecus requires a revision of the current consensus on the timing of bipedality in human developmental history, but there is limited agreement on this point among paleontologists.Functional traits related to suspensory locomotion include its broad thorax, short trunk, high intermembral index, long and slender digits, and extensive mobility in virtually all joints.The lack of predators and the limitation of space and resources in Oreopithecus' insular environment favored a locomotor system optimized for low energy expenditure rather than speed and mobility.[30] Allometric measurements on the bony labyrinth of BAC-208, a fragmentary cranium that preserves a complete, undeformed petrosal bone suggest that Oreopithecus moved with agility comparable to extant great apes.