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  • Title: New Middle Miocene Ape (Primates: Hylobatidae) from Ramnagar, India fills major gaps in the hominoid fossil record.
    Author: Gilbert CC, Ortiz A, Pugh KD, Campisano CJ, Patel BA, Singh NP, Fleagle JG, Patnaik R.
    Journal: Proc Biol Sci; 2020 Sep 09; 287(1934):20201655. PubMed ID: 32900315.
    Abstract:
    The fossil record of 'lesser apes' (i.e. hylobatids = gibbons and siamangs) is virtually non-existent before the latest Miocene of East Asia. However, molecular data strongly and consistently suggest that hylobatids should be present by approximately 20 Ma; thus, there are large temporal, geographical, and morphological gaps between early fossil apes in Africa and the earliest fossil hylobatids in China. Here, we describe a new approximately 12.5-13.8 Ma fossil ape from the Lower Siwaliks of Ramnagar, India, that fills in these long-standing gaps with implications for hylobatid origins. This ape represents the first new hominoid species discovered at Ramnagar in nearly a century, the first new Siwalik ape taxon in more than 30 years, and likely extends the hylobatid fossil record by approximately 5 Myr, providing a minimum age for hylobatid dispersal coeval to that of great apes. The presence of crown hylobatid molar features in the new species indicates an adaptive shift to a more frugivorous diet during the Middle Miocene, consistent with other proposed adaptations to frugivory (e.g. uricase gene silencing) during this time period as well.
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