First joint record of Mesopithecus and cf. Macaca in the Miocene of Europe

Cercopithecid fossil remains from the post-evaporitic Messinian (5.40-5.33 Ma, MN13, latest Turolian, latest Miocene) locality of Moncucco Torinese (Tertiary Piedmont Basin, NW Italy) are described. A talus is assigned to the fossil colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus, while a proximal fragment of ulna and a male lower canine are attributed to cf. Me. pentelicus. An isolated I(2) and M3 are assigned to the papionin cf. Macaca sp., and two cercopithecid phalanges are left unassigned even to the subfamily level. The record of Mesopithecus at Moncucco Torinese agrees well with the previously-known range of this species in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, whereas that of cf. Macaca constitutes only the second occurrence of macaques in the Miocene of Eurasia. Although the co-occurrence of these two genera in a single locality had been previously reported in the Pliocene, this is the first instance in which macaques are associated with the Late Miocene M. pentelicus instead of Mesopithecus monspessulanus. The record of cf. Macaca and Mesopithecus-and especially the latter's talar morphology, similar to that of extant arboreal colobines-fits well with paleoenvironmental reconstructions of Moncucco Torinese based on the associated fauna, which indicate a humid and densely-forested environment, probably with more open and drier habitats nearby. From a paleobiogeographic viewpoint, the record of Macaca at Moncucco Torinese, together with the previously reported occurrence at Almenara-Casablanca M (Spain), supports the contention that macaques dispersed from Africa into Europe during the latest Miocene (ca. 5.9-5.3 Ma) at the same time as the sea level drop associated with the Messinian Salinity Crisis.