Pierolapithecus
Pierolapithecus catalaunicus is an extinct species of primate which lived around 12.5-13 million years ago during the Miocene in what is now Hostalets de Pierola, Catalonia, Spain.The skeleton is of an adult male individual, composed of 83 bones that make up the splanchnocranium, both maxillae, a complete set of cheek teeth, both canines, a right central incisor, zygomatics, lacrimals, a partial frontal, carpals, metacarpals, manual phalanges from two hands, tarsals, metatarsals, pedal phalanges, right patellar distal epiphysis, a left radius, some long bone diaphyses, two pelvic pieces, three vertebrae, two intact ribs, and twelve rib fragments of large size.The ribs are very curved to form a thorax that is anteroposteriorly compressed, the clavicle is robust, lacking a ventral keel on the mid-lumbars, the pedicles of the neural arch are robust and stout, the spinous processes are slightly caudally inclined, the pedicle-body inserts the transverse processes, dorsally oriented and pedicle-born transverse process, the metacarpals and phalanges are short, the os centrale are unfused, the triquetrum is small and non-articulating with the ulnar styloid, and the crevice inserting meniscus attachment and pisiform facet is distally shifted.[7] Overall, the adduction and supination capacity of the wrist, specially built thorax, scapular shift to the back (which was inferred through the long, chimpanzee-like clavicles), and stiff lumbar vertebrae suggest that positional behavior and orthograde locomotion were emphasized.Earlier taxa—Proconsul, Afropithecus, Equatorius, Nacholapithecus—retain basal characters and the similarly-aged Morotopithecus practiced orthograde locomotion but was probably sister to apes (based on facial structure).[11] The pelvis shares an ancestral template with Proconsul nyanzae, which was modified for orthograde behavior (assuming that hypothesis is accepted), and suggests homoplasy in ape pelves.[12] Pierolapithecus demonstrates derived facial features and apelike skeletal adaptations that suggest that it is an early member of the ape clade.[13] This genus is distinguished from pongines and share traits with extant hominines, suggesting a sister relationship with Dryopithecus (possibly in a tribe called Dryopithecini, having thick and thin enamel much like Ardipithecus/australopiths and Pan/hominins).More insectivores, arboreal dormice, and flying squirrels support a humid environment, and the open woodlands of other sites would have made hominid occupation impossible.
MiocenePreꞒScientific classificationEukaryotaAnimaliaChordataMammaliaPrimatesHaplorhiniSimiiformesHominidaeincertae sedisMoyà-SolàBinomial nameprimateHostalets de PierolaCataloniacommon ancestorgreat apeponginedryopithsplanchnocraniumpaleoanthropologistsSalvador Moyà-SolàfossilIraq WarjournalSciencemaxillaezygomaticslacrimalsfrontalcarpalsmetacarpalsmanual phalangestarsalsmetatarsalspatellarepiphysisradiusdiaphysesnasalsglabellaincisive foramenpalatenasal aperturethoraxclaviclelumbarspediclesspinous processestransverse processesos centraletriquetrumulnar styloidmeniscusadductionsupinationscapularchimpanzeeorthogradehumanshominidsOreopithecusDryopithecusProconsulAfropithecusEquatoriusNacholapithecusMorotopithecuspalmigradesuspensoryconvergencepronogradehominoidshomoplasyhominidtaxonomicMiddle MioceneAnoiapithecusafropithecidsgorillasorangutanshomininesArdipithecusaustralopithsMediterraneanalluvialHispanopithecus laietanusSivapithecus occidentalismacroinvertebratemegaherbivoresartiodactylsmicromammalsdigestionFrancecentral Europeinsectivoresdormiceflying squirrelsIberian PeninsulaEast AfricaSoutheast AsiaAfricaEuropepolygynousChororapithecusGriphopithecusNakalipithecusSamburupithecusBibcodeThe Washington PostOmomyidaeAltaniusAltiatlasiusBownomomysNecrolemurAnaptomorphinaeTeilhardinaChipetaiaNesomomysRooneyiaShoshoniusTarsiiformesArchicebusAfrotarsiidae