Abstract
We describe phalanges of the KNM-BG 35250 Nacholapithecus kerioi skeleton from the Middle Miocene of Kenya. Phalanges of N. kerioi display similarities to those of Proconsul heseloni despite their enhanced robusticity. They do not show highly specialized features as in living suspensory primates. However, N. kerioi manifests several distinctive features that are observed in neither living arboreal quadrupeds nor P. heseloni or P. nyanzae. The most remarkable of them is its phalangeal elongation. N. kerioi phalanges (particularly pedal) are as long as those of Pan despite its much smaller body size. While lengthened digits enable a secure grip of supports and are especially adaptive for grasping large vertical trunks, the skeletal and soft tissues are subjected to greater stress. Probably, strong selective pressures favored powerful hallucal/pollical assisted grips. Although this functional adaptation does not exclude the possible use of the terrestrial environment, arboreal behavioral modes must have been crucial in its positional repertoire. N. kerioi is distinguished from P. heseloni in the greater size of its manual phalanges over its pedal phalanges. These derived features of N. kerioi suggest positional modes supporting more weight on the forelimb, and which occur more frequently on vertical supports. If Proconsul is referred to as an "above-branch arboreal quadruped" with a deliberate and effective climbing capability, N. kerioi may be thought of as an "orthograde climber". While living apes are powerful orthograde climbers, they are also more or less suspensory specialists. Suspensory behavior (plus climbing) and pronograde quadrupedalism (plus climbing) are the two main arboreal behavioral adaptations in living anthropoids. Thus, N. kerioi is an unusual fossil primate in that it cannot be incorporated into this dichotomy. It is plausible that a N. kerioi-like orthograde climber with large forelimbs and cheiridia was a precursor of suspensory living apes, and N. kerioi may demonstrate what an initial hominoid of this grade might have looked like.
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Notes
Pickford et al. (1987) suggested that an isolated P3 collected from Nachola might represent Proconsul sp. because of its having a much higher buccal cusp than the lingual one. However, with more specimens, this feature is now considered to be characteristic of N. kerioi.
Ward et al. (1999) advocated the transfer of K. africanus to a new genus Equatorius, which includes specimens from Maboko and Kipsaramon. There are several differences between Maboko and Fort Ternan species. However, arguments over this classification are unsettled. Specimens of wickeri are so far scarce and materials from Maboko and Fort Ternan share some common features (e.g., low and thick mandibular corpus, anteriorly inclined symphysis). We tentatively follow the traditional classification that Kenyapithecus includes africanus and wickeri because whether a generic-level distinction is appropriate is not an important point in our discussion.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Office of the President of the Republic of Kenya for permission to carry out research in Kenya. Thanks also go to the directors of the National Museum of Kenya for their collaboration on the project. We are grateful to curatorial staff in the National Museums of Kenya, the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Powell-Cotton Museum for access to primate skeletal collections, and to Alan Walker for a permission to study KNM-RU 15100. Monte McCrossin generously allowed us to observe recent phalangeal collections from Maboko. Thanks go to Mike Rose for language editing on a draft of this paper, Dan Gebo, Randall Susman, and Masanaru Takai for thoughtful comments on the manuscript and the Editor-in-Chief for accepting the length of this article. This study is supported by the Grant-in-Aid No. 10041164, No. 13375005 from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
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Appendix
Table 13 shows a list of KNM-BG 35250 specimens
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Nakatsukasa, M., Kunimatsu, Y., Nakano, Y. et al. Comparative and functional anatomy of phalanges in Nacholapithecus kerioi, a Middle Miocene hominoid from northern Kenya. Primates 44, 371–412 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-003-0051-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-003-0051-y