A synopsis of the phylogeny and paleobiology of Amphipithecidae, South Asian middle and late Eocene primates
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6135428 |
|---|---|
| Authors | R F Kay (0000-0002-4219-7580, Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Box 3170, Duke University Medical Center, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 113 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 33-42 |
| Publication date | 2005-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Anthropological Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0918-7960 • E-ISSN: 1348-8570 |
| Publisher | Anthropological Society of Nippon (PUBLISHER • JP) |
| DOI | 10.1537/ase.04s005 |
| OpenAlex | W2117156776 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 61 |
Amphipithecidae of late middle Eocene to late Eocene of Myanmar and Thailand is a phylogenetically enigmatic group that some place with Anthropoidea and others with Adapoidea. A linkage with adapoids is hard to demonstrate because it relies largely on a series of similarities that are arguably symplesiomorphies of Primates as a whole. The possibility that amphipithecids are specially related to crown anthropoids (e.g. Aegyptopithecus) is suggested by some shared-derived dental and gnathic anatomy. The postcranial anatomy indicates that the amphipithecids, if they are anthropoids, are probably a distantly related stem group outside the clade of African late Eocene-to-Recent anthropoids. Even the stem-group anthropoid status of amphipithecids is not supported by the absence of postorbital closure and enlarged olfactory bulbs, since postorbital closure and reduced olfactory bulbs characterize a more inclusive crown haplorhine clade of Tarsius plus Anthropoidea. An appealing possibility is that amphipithecids are basal haplorhines whose divergence would have predated the Tarsius–Anthropoidea split. Larger amphipithecids equal or exceed the body size of the largest known Eocene primates. Dental and mandibular anatomy suggests these large-bodied amphipithecids were fruit and hard-object (nut) feeders. A more primitive contemporary amphipithecid, Myanmarpithecus, was smaller, about 1–2 kg, and its cheek teeth suggest a frugivorous diet but do not imply seed eating. The humerus and calcaneus of a large amphipithecid from Myanmar (Pondaungia or Amphipithecus) suggest a slow-moving arboreal quadrupedal locomotion like that of lorises. A talus of an amphipithcid is more suggestive of an active arboreal quadruped
Arboreal locomotion · Biology · Evolutionary biology · Frugivore · Postcrania · Primate · Quadrupedalism · Taxon · Zoology · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Anatomy · Ecology · Paleontology
Allometry and Evolution of Neurocranial Narrowness Across Nonhuman Anthropoid Primates
Diurnality, nocturnality, and the evolution of primate visual systems
Systematic and locomotor diversification of the Adapis group (Primates, Adapiformes) in the late Eocene of the Quercy (Southwest France), revealed by humeral remains
The effect of differences in methodology among some recent applications of shearing quotients
Talar morphology, phylogenetic affinities, and locomotor adaptation of a large‐bodied amphipithecid primate from the late middle eocene of Myanmar
Anatomy of the bony pelvis of a relatively large-bodied strepsirrhine primate from the late middle Eocene Pondaung Formation (central Myanmar)
Dietary reconstruction of the Amphipithecidae (Primates, Anthropoidea) from the Paleogene of South Asia and paleoecological implications
Endocranial cast and morphology of the olfactory bulb of Amphipithecus mogaungensis (latest middle Eocene of Myanmar)
Cranial Anatomy of Shoshonius and the Antiquity of Anthropoidea
Dental Evidence for Anthropoid Origins
The Craniofacial Evidence for Anthropoid and Tarsier Relationships
Locomotor Adaptations in Past and Present Prosimian Primates
Adaptive explanation for the origins of the anthropoidea (primates)
Eocene primates from Thailand
The ecology of oligocene African anthropoidea
Arboreal Quadrupedism and Forelimb Articular Anatomy of Red Howlers
Problems of body-weight estimation in fossil primates
Paleobiology of the oligopithecines, the earliest known anthropoid primates
Gibbon foraging decisions and the marginal value model
Chronology of primate discoveries in Myanmar
Skull of Catopithecus browni, an early tertiary catarrhine
The dermatoglyphics of American Caucasians
The nut‐crackers – a new theory of the adaptations of the Ramapithecinae
The functional adaptations of primate molar teeth
New postcranial specimens of catarrhines from the Middle Miocene Chinji Formation, Pakistan
Geographical and body size distributions of the Pondaung primates with a comment on the taxonomic assignment of NMMP 20, postcranium of an amphipithecid
New postcranial remains of Victoriapithecus from the middle Miocene of Kenya
Early primate brains
The paleobiology of Amphipithecidae, South Asian late Eocene primates
A new anthropoid from the latest middle Eocene of Pondaung, central Myanmar
Siamopithecus eocaenus, a late Eocene anthropoid primate from Thailand
Diets of fossil primates from the Fayum Depression of Egypt
Long bone cross-sectional dimensions, locomotor adaptations and body size in prosimian primates
The upper dentition and face of from central Myanmar
A hominoid proximal humerus from the Early Miocene of Rusinga Island, Kenya
Cranial morphology and adaptations of Palaechthon nacimienti and other paromomyidae (Plesiadapoidea, ? primates), with a description of a new genus and species
Another look at the anthropoid elbow
Fission-track zircon age of the Eocene Pondaung Formation, Myanmar
Osteological evidence for the evolution of activity pattern and visual acuity in primates
In vivo and in vitro bone strain in the owl monkey circumorbital region and the function of the postorbital septum
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,39 |
| Citation span | 2008 - 2026 (19) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |