The new primate species, common ancestor of extant hominoids: Pliobates cataloniae

Apes are divided into two groups: on the one hand, we have larger-bodied apes or hominoids, such as humans, chimps or gorillas and, on the other hand, we have smaller-bodied hyalobatids, gibbons for example.

Up until now, researches believed that the last common ancestor of these two families must have been large, because all of the undoubted fossil hominoids found so far were large-bodied. Nevertheless, the finding of this new genus and species of an extant hominoid, Pliobates cataloniae, has overturned everything, as this finding provides very solid clues about their origin and tells researchers that the ancestor must had been smaller-bodied.

Researches have described the species based on a partial skeleton composed of 70 fossil remains found in 2011 in one of the sites within the stratigraphic series of Abocador de Can Mata, in Barcelona, Catalonia. The fossils include most of the skull and dentition, and a considerable part of the left arm with several elements of the elbow and wrist joints. Analysing the bones, they have said that they must have belonged to a smaller-bodied ape, similar to the smallest of the living gibbons. which lived 11.6 million years ago, weighing 4 to 5 kilogrames.

Figure 1. Reconstruction of the skull (front and side view) and representation

of life appearance of Pliobates cataloniae are shown.

Pliobates’ characteristics

Pliobates shows, for the first time in a primate fossil of this size, a set of characteristic features of extant hominoids, probably inherited from their last common ancestor, who lived a few million years before Pliobates itself.

The skull and some parts of the postcranial skeleton show some features that are exclusive to extant gibbons. About the postcranial skeleton, researchers say that are indicative of a slow and cautious climbing, canopying, and with great flexibility and capacity of below-branch suspension. Its encephalization degree is similar to that of living monkeys and gibbons too, but lower than that of big apes.

There are some primitive characteristics that this ape still retains, however, its arm anatomy is similar to the basic design of living hominoids, specifically the wrist bones and the joint between the humerus and radius.

Thanks to these characteristics and to the phylogenetic analyses that have been done, it is quiet sure that the Pliobates is the closest ape to the divergence between hyalobatids and hominids.

Pliobates’ diet

Researchers believe that Pliobates had a similar diet to the gibbons’. According to microscopic marks left by food items on the surfaces ot its teeth, shortly before death, indicate an essentially frugivorous diet, based mostly on ripe and soft fruit.

+WATCH THIS VIDEO! Researches talking about the finding.

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