Middle Miocene dispersals of apes

Area of Science:

• Paleontology
• Primatology
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• The earliest fossil apes outside Africa are found in the latest early Miocene of Turkey and Eastern Europe.
• These early apes inhabited subtropical mixed environments, including forests and open woodlands.

Observation:

• Postcranial morphology suggests generalized arboreal quadrupedal behaviors, similar to some New World monkeys.
• Robust jaws and thick enamelled teeth indicate a diet of hard fruits.
• Two well-known species from Turkey, Griphopithecus alpani and a new Kenyapithecus species, show similarities and differences in dental and jaw morphology.

Findings:

• Griphopithecus alpani shares primitive traits with early African apes, while the Kenyapithecus species exhibits derived characters suggesting a phylogenetic link to African Kenyapithecus.
• Middle Miocene ape radiation in Africa and Eurasia coincided with the closure of the Tethys Sea.
• African ape sites indicate seasonal woodlands with some forest vegetation, similar to environments reconstructed for Turkish ape sites.

Implications:

• The environmental shift towards more seasonal woodlands in Africa may have facilitated ape emigration.
• This environmental change likely enabled ape movement between continents during the middle Miocene, including potential re-entry into Africa.
• Understanding these early ape migrations provides insights into hominoid evolution and dispersal patterns.