Primitive Old World monkey from the earliest Miocene of Kenya and the evolution of cercopithecoid bilophodonty
Abstract
Almost nothing is known about the origin and evolution of Old World monkeys (cercopithecoids) because the first ∼12 million years of their fossil record is documented by only two isolated teeth. We describe a new primitive monkey from Kenya that dates from ∼22 million years ago and reveals a previously unknown stage of evolution. Comparisons between this monkey and other cercopithecoids offer detailed insights into the development of the novelties associated with the evolution of the cercopithecoid dentition, and particularly bilophodonty. Results suggest that this fossil monkey exhibited dental adaptations for frugivory and perhaps hard object feeding. Bilophodonty, the dental trait that unites all living cercopithecoids, evolved later, likely in response to the inclusion of leaves in the diet.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- March 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1815423116
- Bibcode:
- 2019PNAS..116.6051R