Upper Miocene continental deposits in the northern Tyrrhenian area (Tuscany and Sardinia) are well known for the celebrated records of endemic fossil vertebrates. These faunal complexes are known as Oreopithecus Faunal Zones (OZFs) and are named from their most representative taxon, the fossil hominoid Oreopithecus bambolii. Oreopithecus evolved under insularity conditions on the Tusco- Sardinian palaeobioprovince, surviving there until 7.0–6.5 Ma and being the last European Miocene ape to become extinct. Since the time of its first description by P. Gervais (1872), the taxonomic and phylogenetic status of the large-bodied hominoid O. bambolii has represented some of the most controversial issues in palaeontology Although Oreopithecus is today broadly accepted as a hominoid, its phylogenetic position is uncertain and debated). This taxon displays a unique mosaic of derived hominid features and apparently more primitive features, including evolutionary convergences with both bipedal hominins and cercopithecid monkeys. Accordingly, Oreopithecus is still considered a somewhat “enigmatic anthropoid”, with some researchers arguing that it represents a derived great ape that originated from European dryopithecines, and others arguing that it is a late survivor of the African nyanzapithecine lineage. The paleobiology and phylogeny of Oreopithecus is under investigation by means of an emerging interdisciplinary research field, the Paleoproteomics. The latter is based on the analysis of ancient protein sequences preserved within fossil tissues using Mass Spectrometry. As proteins survive longer than DNA, Paleoproteomics can investigate specimens and taxa much deeper into the geologic time, and the method has been recently successfully utilized to typify fossil mammals towards the temporal limit of about 2My. Within the international ETN project PUSHH, the Florence University unit is contributing to setting up methodologies and techniques in order to refine the potential of this new approach toward the methodological threshold of 10My. The hopefully successful approach of this international collaborative multidisciplinary project will allow to retrieve a paleoproteomic signature from Oreopithecus (and associated fauna) fossils, thus helping us in clarifying the phylogenetic position of O. bambolii and its relations with the European Dryopithecinae.
Oreopithecus bambolii: Does “Molecular Paleontology” can help us in better understanding such a peculiar fossil Ape?
Weronika Karolina Cieszynska
2021-01-01
Abstract
Upper Miocene continental deposits in the northern Tyrrhenian area (Tuscany and Sardinia) are well known for the celebrated records of endemic fossil vertebrates. These faunal complexes are known as Oreopithecus Faunal Zones (OZFs) and are named from their most representative taxon, the fossil hominoid Oreopithecus bambolii. Oreopithecus evolved under insularity conditions on the Tusco- Sardinian palaeobioprovince, surviving there until 7.0–6.5 Ma and being the last European Miocene ape to become extinct. Since the time of its first description by P. Gervais (1872), the taxonomic and phylogenetic status of the large-bodied hominoid O. bambolii has represented some of the most controversial issues in palaeontology Although Oreopithecus is today broadly accepted as a hominoid, its phylogenetic position is uncertain and debated). This taxon displays a unique mosaic of derived hominid features and apparently more primitive features, including evolutionary convergences with both bipedal hominins and cercopithecid monkeys. Accordingly, Oreopithecus is still considered a somewhat “enigmatic anthropoid”, with some researchers arguing that it represents a derived great ape that originated from European dryopithecines, and others arguing that it is a late survivor of the African nyanzapithecine lineage. The paleobiology and phylogeny of Oreopithecus is under investigation by means of an emerging interdisciplinary research field, the Paleoproteomics. The latter is based on the analysis of ancient protein sequences preserved within fossil tissues using Mass Spectrometry. As proteins survive longer than DNA, Paleoproteomics can investigate specimens and taxa much deeper into the geologic time, and the method has been recently successfully utilized to typify fossil mammals towards the temporal limit of about 2My. Within the international ETN project PUSHH, the Florence University unit is contributing to setting up methodologies and techniques in order to refine the potential of this new approach toward the methodological threshold of 10My. The hopefully successful approach of this international collaborative multidisciplinary project will allow to retrieve a paleoproteomic signature from Oreopithecus (and associated fauna) fossils, thus helping us in clarifying the phylogenetic position of O. bambolii and its relations with the European Dryopithecinae.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
