''Cebupithecia'' is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
New World monkey
New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboidea ( ...
s from the
Middle Miocene
The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene.
The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma to 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million y ...
(
Laventan
The Laventan ( es, Laventense) age is a period of geologic time (13.8 to 11.8 Ma) within the Middle Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Colloncuran and precedes ...
in the
South American land mammal age
The South American land mammal ages (SALMA) establish a geologic timescale for prehistoric South American fauna beginning 64.5 Mya (unit), Ma during the Paleocene and continuing through to the Late Pleistocene (0.011 Ma). These periods are referre ...
s; 13.8 to 11.8 Ma). Its remains have been found at the
Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of
La Venta
La Venta is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Olmec civilization located in the present-day Mexican state of Tabasco. Some of the artifacts have been moved to the museum "Parque - Museo de La Venta", which is in nearby Villahermosa, ...
in the
Honda Group of
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. The
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
is ''C. sarmientoi''.
[''Cebupithecia sarmientoi'']
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database
The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...
.org[''Cebupithecia sarmientoi'']
/ref>
Description
Fossils of ''Cebupithecia'' were discovered in the "Monkey Beds" of the Honda Group, that has been dated to the Laventan
The Laventan ( es, Laventense) age is a period of geologic time (13.8 to 11.8 Ma) within the Middle Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Colloncuran and precedes ...
, about 13.5 Ma. ''Cebupithecia'' had a dental formula of 2:1:3:3 on the lower jaw. The incisor
Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, whe ...
s of this species were procumbant, suggesting a close relation to ''Pithecia''.[Defler, 2004, p.32] and the canines had a stout appearance. The molars were flat with cusps having little contours.[ ''Cebupithecia'' had an estimated average body mass of around .][Silvestro et al., 2017, p.14] ''Cebupithecia'' had a relatively longer talar neck and a higher, more squared-shaped talar body. In these features, ''Cebupithecia'' is more like cebines or aotins than pitheciines, but its overall pattern is unlike any living platyrrhine group or any of the known fossils.[Gebo et al., 1990, p.744]
Movement
''Cebupithecia'' also exhibits a relatively large medial protuberance which is smoothed, another resemblance to aotins. The significance of these characters is difficult to interpret. ''Cebupithecia'' may be the most primitive known pitheciine, retaining shared primitive resemblances with aotins and cebines. Alternatively, its unusual morphology could reflect a unique, derived (for pitheciines) locomotor pattern. The talar features which distinguish ''Cebupithecia'' from other pitheciines indicate that leaping was relatively more frequent, as is also indicated by other postcranial features. The locomotor behavior of ''Cebupithecia'' has been reconstructed as frequent quadrupedalism
Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion where four limbs are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four limbs is said to be a quadruped (from Latin ''quattuor' ...
and leaping,[ or more relying on vertical clinging and leaping rather than quadrupedal locomotion, much like members of the extant genus '']Pithecia
Sakis, or saki monkeys, are any of several New World monkeys of the genus ''Pithecia''. They are closely related to the bearded sakis of genus ''Chiropotes''.
Range
Sakis' range includes northern and central South America, extending from the so ...
'', to which the genus is related.[Tejedor, 2013, p.28]
Later research suggests that ''Cebupithecia'' may have employed its tail differently than most nonprehensile-tailed platyrrhines living today, behaviors that
possibly involved tail-bracing or twisting during hindlimb (pedal grasping) suspensory behaviors. Such behaviors may serve as a preadaptive model for the full-fledged evolution of below-branch tail suspension and prehensility seen in other New World primates.[Organ & Lemelin, 2011, p.2013]
Evolution
The evolutionary split between Pitheciidae
The Pitheciidae () are one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. Formerly, they were included in the family Atelidae. The family includes the titis, saki monkeys and uakaris. Most species are native to the Amazon region ...
, of which ''Cebupithecia'', and ''Callicebus
''Callicebus'' is a genus of monkeys known as titi monkeys.
Historically, titis were monogeneric, comprising only the genus ''Callicebus'' Thomas, 1903. Owing to the great diversity found across titi monkey species, a new genus-level taxonomy wa ...
'', including ''Miocallicebus
''Miocallicebus'' is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene (Laventan in the South American land mammal ages; 13.8 to 11.8 mya). Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group ...
'', also found in the Honda Group, has been placed at 15.2 million years ago.[Takai et al., 2001, p.304]
Habitat
The Honda Group, and more precisely the "Monkey Beds", are the richest site for fossil primates in South America.[Rosenberger & Hartwig, 2001, p.3] It has been argued that the monkeys of the Honda Group were living in habitat that was in contact with the Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
and Orinoco Basin
The Orinoco Basin is the part of South America drained by the Orinoco river and its tributaries. The Orinoco watershed covers an area of about 990000 km2, making it the third largest in South America, covering most of Venezuela and eastern p ...
s, and that La Venta itself was probably seasonally dry forest.[Lynch Alfaro et al., 2015, p.520] From the same level as where ''Cebupithecia'' has been found, also fossils of ''Aotus dindensis
''Aotus dindensis'' is an extinct species of New World monkeys in the genus '' Aotus'' from the Middle Miocene (Laventan in the South American land mammal ages; 13.8 to 11.8 Ma). Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La ...
'', ''Micodon
''Micodon'' is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene (Laventan in the South American land mammal ages; 13.8 to 11.8 Ma). Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colomb ...
'', ''Mohanamico
''Mohanamico'' is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene (Laventan in the South American land mammal ages; 13.8 to 11.8 Ma). Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Col ...
'', ''Saimiri annectens
''Saimiri annectens'', originally described as ''Laventiana annectens'' and later as ''Neosaimiri annectens'', is an extinct species of New World monkey in the genus ''Saimiri'' (squirrel monkeys) from the Middle Miocene (Laventan in the South Am ...
'', ''Saimiri fieldsi
''Saimiri fieldsi'' is an extinct species of New World monkey in the genus ''squirrel monkey, Saimiri'' (squirrel monkeys) from the Miocene, Middle Miocene (Laventan in the South American land mammal ages; 13.8 to 11.8 Ma). Its remains have been ...
'' and ''Stirtonia tatacoensis
''Stirtonia'' is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene (Laventan in the South American land mammal ages; 13.8 to 11.8 Ma). Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of ...
'' have been uncovered.[Luchterhand et al., 1986, p.1753][Wheeler, 2010, p.133][Setoguchi et al., 1986, p.762]
See also
* List of primates of Colombia
The primates of Colombia include 41 extant species in 13 genera and five families. Additionally, 12 fossil species in 10 genera and five families have been identified in Colombia, mainly at the La Venta (Colombia), La Venta Lagerstätte of the Hond ...
* ''Nuciruptor
''Nuciruptor'' is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene (Laventan in the South American land mammal ages; 13.8 to 11.8 Ma). Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Col ...
''
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q5759717
†Cebupithecia
Prehistoric primate genera
Prehistoric monkeys
†Cebupithecia
Miocene genus first appearances
Miocene extinctions
Miocene primates of South America
Laventan
Neogene Colombia
Fossils of Colombia
Honda Group, Colombia
Fossil taxa described in 1950