Relationships between the fossil colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus and extant cercopithecoids, based on dental metrics

Area of Science:

• Primate Paleontology
• Dental Morphology
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• Understanding primate evolutionary relationships is crucial for reconstructing past ecosystems.
• Mesopithecus pentelicus is an extinct primate with debated taxonomic affiliations.
• Previous studies suggested Mesopithecus was closely related to African colobines like Colobus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the systematic affiliation of Mesopithecus pentelicus using dental measurements.
• To compare dental variation among fossil and extant cercopithecoid primates.
• To clarify the phylogenetic position of Mesopithecus within Colobinae.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of maxillary dental measurements from Mesopithecus pentelicus, cercopithecines, African colobines, and Asian colobines.
• Application of a nested research design to assess relationships at different taxonomic levels.
• Comparative analysis focusing on molar shape and size variation.

Main Results:

• Dental variation is primarily driven by size, but significant shape differences exist.
• Molars are key discriminators of taxonomic groups.
• Mesopithecus pentelicus is confirmed as a colobine, showing greater similarity to Asian species than African ones.
• Odd-nosed colobines exhibit more dental similarities with Mesopithecus than other colobines.

Conclusions:

• Mesopithecus pentelicus belongs to the Colobinae subfamily.
• The dental evidence supports a closer relationship between Mesopithecus and Asian colobines.
• Odd-nosed colobines may represent a sister group to Mesopithecus, challenging prior hypotheses.