Mainland versus Island Adaptation: Paleobiogeography of Sunda Shelf Primates Revisited

Southeast Asian primates appear to be one of the most successful mammals in the dynamic paleoclimatic changes since at least 1 mya. Human and non-human primates reflect the complex history of a wide range of ecological and geographic variation, which presents to be the source of different systematics and biogeographic models. The past combinative effects of geographic factors (latitude, bathymetric barrier, and duration of island isolation), periodic sea level changes, and the contribution of human and/or non-human primate interaction are crucial subjects in studying the north-to-south, which is from continental to archipelago of Sunda Shelf, dispersal events and phylogeographic analysis of human and non-human primates. Cranial size and shape difference between Homo erectus in mainland and island displays peculiarity on the effect of insularity. Data analyses on cranial landmarks of three non-human primate genera provide more clear resolution to reconstruct the complete scenario, whereby insular primates are dispersed and adapted to their present biogeographical distribution

Allometry and Interspecific Differences in the Facial Cranium of Two Closely Related Macaque Species

Interpreting evolutionary history of macaque monkeys from fossil evidence is difficult, because their evolutionary fluctuations in body size might have removed or formed important morphological features differently in each lineage. We employed geometric morphometrics to explore allometric trajectories of craniofacial shape in two closely related species, Macaca fascicularis and M. fuscata. These two species exhibit a single shared allometric trajectory in superoinferior deflection of the anterior face, indicating that the differences in this feature can be explained by size variation. In contrast, two parallel trajectories are demonstrated in craniofacial protrusion, indicating that even if they are comparable in size, M. fuscata has a higher and shorter face than M. fascicularis. The degree of facial protrusion is most likely a critical feature for phyletic evaluation in the fascicularis group. Such analyses in various macaques would help to resolve controversies regarding phyletic interpretations of fossil macaques

Fission-Track Ages of the Villavieja Formation of the Miocene Honda Group in La Venta, Department of Huila, Colombia

Monbusho International Scientific Research Program Reports by 1990 and 1991 Grants for Field ResearchProject Number: 02041050 (1990 to 1991)Phylogenetic Studies of South American MonkeysHead Investigator: Yasuo NOGAMI, Professor, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto Universit

Discovery of Propotamochoerus (Artiodactyla, Suidae) from the Neogene of Myanmar

Dento-gnathic specimens of Propotamochoerus (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Suidae) were discovered from the upper Miocene and lower Pliocene of the Irrawaddy Group, central Myanmar. These specimens were identified as Propotamochoerus hysudricus and Propotamochoerus sp. cf. P. hysudricus. The discovery of P. cf. hysudricus from the lower Pliocene indicates a younger stratigraphic position of this genus. Small size of the premolars in the lower Pliocene specimens possibly suggests an intermediate stage of dental evolution for this form

The first archaic Homo from Taiwan

Recent studies of an increasing number of hominin fossils highlight regional and chronological diversities of archaic Homo in the Pleistocene of eastern Asia. However, such a realization is still based on limited geographical occurrences mainly from Indonesia, China and Russian Altai. Here we describe a newly discovered archaic Homo mandible from Taiwan (Penghu 1), which further increases the diversity of Pleistocene Asian hominins. Penghu 1 revealed an unexpectedly late survival (younger than 450 but most likely 190-10 thousand years ago) of robust, apparently primitive dentognathic morphology in the periphery of the continent, which is unknown among the penecontemporaneous fossil records from other regions of Asia except for the mid-Middle Pleistocene Homo from Hexian, Eastern China. Such patterns of geographic trait distribution cannot be simply explained by clinal geographic variation of Homo erectus between northern China and Java, and suggests survival of multiple evolutionary lineages among archaic hominins before the arrival of modern humans in the region.This study was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (102-2116-M-178-004-) to C.-H.C., the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 24247044) to Y.K., and Australian Research Council (DP110101415) to R.G

An Ibis-like Bird (Aves: cf. Threskiornithidae) from the Late Middle Eocene of Myanmar

p. 179-184http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41254/1/Vol 31 No 7 Final.pd

Pliocene lagomorphs and rodents from Udunga, Transbaikalia, eastern Russia

Hundreds of lagomorph and rodent fossils from the Middle Pliocene of Udunga are stored in the Southern Scientific Center, Russian Academy of the Sciences. They have been studied taxonomically. The lagomorph fossils include three forms of ochotonids such as Ochotona cf. gromovi, Ochotona sp. (large form) and Ochotonoides complicidens, and two forms of leporids such as Hypolagus sp. and Leporidae, gen. and sp. indet. The rodent fossils include one castorid species (Castor anderssoni), one siphneid form (Prosiphneus cf. praetingi) and one arvicolid form (Villanyia sp.). Among them, Castor anderssoni is highly predominant, and attains to more than 50 % of all the lagomorph and rodent specimens identifiable at the family, genus or species level. These fossils provide additional knowledge to the small mammal fauna of Udunga already reported

Geology and Localities of Monkey Fossils in the La Venta Badlands, Colombia, South America

Monbusho International Scientific Research Program Reports by 1988 and 1989 Grants for Field ResearchProject Number: 63041076 (1988 to 1989)Phylogenetic Studies of South American MonkeysHead Investigator: Yasuo NOGAMI, Associate Professor, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto Universit

Preliminary Review of the Specimens and Localities of Platyrrhine Fossils from the Tatacoa Desert, Colombia

Monbusho International Scientific Research Program Reports by 1993 and 1994 Grants for Field ResearchProject Number: 05041091Phylogenetic Studies of South American MonkeysHead Investigator: Takeshi SETOGUCHI, Professor, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Faculty of Science, Kyoto Universit

Parapresbytis eohanuman: the northernmost colobine monkey from the Pliocene of Transbaikalia

Parapresbytis eohanuman (Borissoglebskaya, 1981) is the northernmost colobine monkey discovered from the middle to late Pliocene sediments in Transbaikal area, southern Siberia. Although most of the specimens are isolated teeth, three premaxillary/maxillary fragments, some cranial fragments, and two nearly complete mandibles are also included. Some researchers regard it the close relative to Dolichopithecus, the Pliocene colobines in Europe, while others insist that it is an ancestral taxon of Rhinopithecus, snubnosed monkey, which is presently distributed in southern China and northern Vietnam. However, the phyletic position of P. eohanuman has not yet been established because of the scarcity of fossil evidences in the northern East Asia in the Late Pliocene