Elsevier

Journal of Human Evolution

Volume 67, February 2014, Pages 1-18
Journal of Human Evolution

First joint record of Mesopithecus and cf. Macaca in the Miocene of Europe

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.11.001Get rights and content

Abstract

Cercopithecid fossil remains from the post-evaporitic Messinian (5.40–5.33 Ma, MN13, latest Turolian, latest Miocene) locality of Moncucco Torinese (Tertiary Piedmont Basin, NW Italy) are described. A talus is assigned to the fossil colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus, while a proximal fragment of ulna and a male lower canine are attributed to cf. Me. pentelicus. An isolated I2 and M3 are assigned to the papionin cf. Macaca sp., and two cercopithecid phalanges are left unassigned even to the subfamily level. The record of Mesopithecus at Moncucco Torinese agrees well with the previously-known range of this species in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, whereas that of cf. Macaca constitutes only the second occurrence of macaques in the Miocene of Eurasia. Although the co-occurrence of these two genera in a single locality had been previously reported in the Pliocene, this is the first instance in which macaques are associated with the Late Miocene M. pentelicus instead of Mesopithecus monspessulanus. The record of cf. Macaca and Mesopithecus—and especially the latter's talar morphology, similar to that of extant arboreal colobines—fits well with paleoenvironmental reconstructions of Moncucco Torinese based on the associated fauna, which indicate a humid and densely-forested environment, probably with more open and drier habitats nearby. From a paleobiogeographic viewpoint, the record of Macaca at Moncucco Torinese, together with the previously reported occurrence at Almenara–Casablanca M (Spain), supports the contention that macaques dispersed from Africa into Europe during the latest Miocene (ca. 5.9–5.3 Ma) at the same time as the sea level drop associated with the Messinian Salinity Crisis.

Introduction

Cercopithecine and colobine Old World monkeys coexisted in Europe throughout the Pliocene and into the earliest Pleistocene (e.g., Delson, 1974, Eronen and Rook, 2004), with the former having dispersed there from Africa by the latest Miocene (Köhler et al., 2000). Here we report new fossil cercopithecid remains from the post-evaporitic Messinian (MN13, late Turolian) locality of Moncucco Torinese (5.40–5.33 Ma), which has produced diverse fossil assemblages of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates and vertebrates (Angelone et al., 2011, Colombero, 2012). The presence of a cercopithecid primate in this locality was first noted by Angelone et al. (2011) on the basis of an isolated talus, which they preliminarily attributed to Mesopithecus sp. Since then, additional postcranial and dental remains have been discovered during fieldwork and the preparation of previously-recovered fossil specimens. Here we provide photographs and describe in detail most of the currently available primate remains from Moncucco Torinese (Alba et al., 2013a) and conclude that both Mesopithecus and cf. Macaca are recorded at this site. Although the extinct colobine Mesopithecus had been found associated with Macaca in some Pliocene localities, this is the first time that both genera are reported together from a Miocene site. In fact, the cf. Macaca from Moncucco Torinese represents only the second record of macaques from the Late Miocene of Europe. The paleobiogeographic, biochronologic and paleoenvironmental implications of these finds are discussed below.

The site of Moncucco Torinese is located in the Moncucco gypsum quarry, along the southern flank of Torino Hill within the Tertiary Piedmont Basin (NW Italy; Fig. 1; Rossi et al., 2009, Dela Pierre et al., 2011). The Moncucco quarry exposes a Messinian lithostratigraphic succession that ranges from the pre-evaporitic Messinian up to the Miocene–Pliocene boundary (Trenkwalder et al., 2008, Angelone et al., 2011). In the SE part of the quarry, the outcropping post-evaporitic horizons overlie the chaotic sediments that were deposited during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) (Dela Pierre et al., 2007). These sedimentary layers record the transition from shallow brackish waters (‘Lago-Mare’ facies) to freshwater/terrestrial environments (Angelone et al., 2011). The fossil assemblages from Moncucco Torinese (including ostracods, brackish-water mollusks and micromammals) indicate a Late Miocene age (MN13, late Turolian; Angelone et al., 2011, Colombero, 2012), in agreement with the stratigraphic data. An ostracod assemblage pertaining to the so-called Loxocorniculina djafarovi Zone (5.40–5.33 Ma; Grossi et al., 2011) was reported by Angelone et al. (2011) from a single layer underlying those containing the fossil vertebrate remains. For this reason, the Messinian fossiliferous deposits of the Moncucco quarry can be assigned to the upper post-evaporitic unit (p-ev2), which has been cyclostratigraphically constrained to the time interval between 5.42 and 5.33 Ma (e.g., Roveri et al., 2008). Therefore, the age of the vertebrate remains from Moncucco Torinese is bracketed between 5.40 and 5.33 Ma.

The outcrop consists of more than 3 m of mostly sandy and argillaceous marls, in which nine sedimentary units have been defined (Angelone et al., 2011, Colombero, 2012). Most of the fossil remains described in this paper (Table 1) come from unit 3, which is a 0–30 cm-thick layer composed of slightly sandy clays with scattered pebbles, abundant mollusk shells, and some small- to medium-sized vertebrate remains. These sediments most likely correspond to a debris-flow deposited in a water-dominated environment (Angelone et al., 2011). Another of the described fossils might also come from unit 3 or alternatively from the overlying unit 4, a layer of 0.30–0.50 cm in thickness, mainly composed by sandy clays with microconglomeratic lenses, and also a clast-supported conglomerate on top. Finally, an intermediate phalanx comes from unit 7, a layer up to 110 cm thick. This layer consists of laminated dark sandy clays with small calcareous pebbles in the lower portion and greenish homogenized sandy clays in the upper portion, with some microconglomeratic horizons containing mollusk shells and vertebrate remains.

Section snippets

Studied material

The fossil remains described in this paper (see Table 1) are housed at the collections of the Museum of Geology and Paleontology of Torino University (Italy), whose catalogue numbers are preceded by the acronym ‘MGPT-PU’. Specimens of extant cercopithecids were examined in the collections of various institutions, but especially at the American Museum of Natural History, Department of Mammalogy (AMNH).

Measurements and statistical comparisons

Measurements of the dental and postcranial remains were taken with digital calipers to the

Systematic paleontology

  • Order Primates Linnaeus, 1758

  • Infraorder Catarrhini Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812

  • Superfamily Cercopithecoidea Gray, 1821

  • Family Cercopithecidae Gray, 1821

  • Cercopithecidae indet.

  • (Fig. 2a–k)

Mesopithecus

The genus Mesopithecus is widely recorded from the Late Miocene and Pliocene of Eurasia (Delson, 1973, Delson, 1974, Delson, 1975, Szalay and Delson, 1979, Jablonski, 2002, Jablonski et al., 2011, Alba et al., 2013b). Two or three European species are distinguished (Delson, 1973, Delson, 1975, Delson, 1994, Szalay and Delson, 1979, Andrews et al., 1996, Rook, 1999, Jablonski, 2002, Pradella and Rook, 2007, Rook and Alba, 2012): Me. pentelicus, perhaps from the Vallesian (MN9 or MN10 of Wissberg)

Summary and conclusions

The cercopithecid dental and postcranial remains from the locality of Moncucco Torinese (Tertiary Piedmont Basin, NW Italy) are described. On the basis of its sedimentological context and biostratigraphy, this site is attributed to the post-evaporitic Messinian, with an estimated age between 5.40 and 5.33 Ma (MN13, latest Turolian, Late Miocene). Most of the reported remains are attributed to the fossil colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus pentelicus. This attribution is more secure for the

Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the Italian MIUR PRIN 2009MSSS9L_002 (‘Paleobiogeografia e dinamica di popolazione nel tardo Miocene: nuove evidenze dal Mediterraneo centrale’, to G.P.), the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (CGL2011-28681, CGL2011-27343, and RYC-2009-04533 to D.M.A.) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2009 SGR 754 GRC, and 2011 BE-DGR 00310 to D.M.A.). We are grateful to the quarry agent, the Fassa Bortolo Agency, and to Igor Muller for facilities during fieldwork

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