Theropithecus oswaldi

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Theropithecus oswaldi
Temporal range: Early to Middle Pleistocene
1 Million years ago
File:Theropithecus NMNH.jpg
Fragmented jaw
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Theropithecus
Species:
T. oswaldi
Binomial name
Theropithecus oswaldi
(Andrews, 1916)
Subspecies
  • T. o. oswaldi
  • T. o. ecki
Synonyms
  • Simopithecus oswaldi Andrews, 1916
  • Simopithecus jonathoni

Theropithecus oswaldi is an extinct species of Theropithecus from the early to middle Pleistocene of Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, Spain, Morocco, and Algeria.[1] The species went extinct in South Africa around 1 million years ago.[2] Having existed alongside hominins like Homo erectus, conflict with early humans likely played a role in their extinction, as a site has been found with many juveniles butchered.[3][4]

Description

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It is remarkable for its large size compared to other Old World monkeys. One source projects a specimen of Theropithecus oswaldi to have weighed 72 kg (159 lb).[5] Postcranial fossils found of this species are much greater in size than extant papionins, including the mandrill.[6]

Palaeoecology

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According to δ13C values from fossils of the species from Swartkrans, T. oswaldi was a specialised grazer.[7] A dental microwear study of T. oswaldi specimens from Swartkrans found that their dietary patterns were similar to geladas, yellow baboons, and mantled guerezas and would have included leaves and grasses in addition to fruits.[8] A different dental microwear study based on fossils from the Omo Valley suggests that the diet of T. oswaldi, like that of the modern day gelada, consisted primarily of the aerial parts of herbaceous monocots and dicots.[9] T. oswaldi fossils are also known from Elandsfontein,[10] where they subsided on diets mainly composed of C3 plants as both browsers and grazers.[11]

References

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  2. ^ Faith, J.T., 2014. "Late Pleistocene and Holocene mammal extinctions on continental Africa". Earth-Science Reviews 128: 105–121
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  4. ^ Getahun, D. A., Delson, E., & Seyoum, C. M. (2023). "A review of Theropithecus oswaldi with the proposal of a new subspecies". Journal of Human Evolution, 180, 103373. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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