Isotopic reconstructions of habitat change surrounding the extinction of Oreopithecus , the last European ape

Bibliographic Data

ID8316651
AuthorsSherry V Nelson (Department of Anthropology University of New Mexico MSC01‐1040, 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131‐0001, corresponding author), Lorenzo Rook (0000-0001-8923-5428, Dipartimento Di Scienze Della Terra Università Di Firenze via G. La Pira, 4 Firenze 50121 Italy)
Year2016
Volume160
Issue2
Pages254-271
Publication date2016-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.22970
PMID26932906
OpenAlexW2289481178
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited108

OBJECTIVE: Oreopithecus bambolii was the last hominoid to survive in Europe. The purpose of this investigation was to reconstruct, through stable isotope analyses, Oreopithecus' habitat, subsistence behavior, and changes in habitat that may have led to its extinction. METHODS: Carbon and oxygen stable isotopes from inorganic carbonate in tooth enamel from Oreopithecus and its contemporaneous faunas from localities in Tuscany and Sardinia were sampled. Also the fauna from localities in Tuscany shortly after Oreopithecus went extinct were sampled. RESULTS: Results indicated that Oreopithecus, compared with most modern hominoids, inhabited forests that probably had a more open canopy. At Tuscan localities, Oreopithecus yields some of the highest carbon isotope values but some of the lowest oxygen, suggesting a diet that may have included tubers or aquatic vegetation. Relatively higher oxygen values in Sardinia suggested that its diet included arboreal foods as well. Among modern and fossil hominoids, Oreopithecus only resembled chimpanzees living outside of rainforests. It also resembled Ardipithecus in carbon isotope values, suggesting possible similarities in feeding strategies concordant with shared skeletal features between Oreopithecus and early hominins. Isotope values from post-Oreopithecus faunas indicated a shift to more forested conditions, unlike other hominoid extinctions associated with loss of forest. CONCLUSIONS: Isotopic reconstructions of Oreopithecus' habitat and changes associated with its extinction indicated that its paleoecology was unique among hominoids. However, these reconstructions also suggested that like other hominoids, Oreopithecus was susceptible to changes in seasonality of precipitation, and it may have used wetlands as a buffer to seasonal regimes. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:254-271, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Arboreal locomotion · Biology · Extinction (optical mineralogy) · Fauna · Habitat · Isotopes of carbon · Paleoecology · Rainforest · Stable isotope ratio · Total organic carbon · Ecology · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Primate Behavior and Ecology