''Cebupithecia'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

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 Ceboid ...

s from the Middle Miocene (

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 the ...

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 Ma during the Paleocene and continuing through to the Late Pleistocene (0.011 Ma). These periods are referred to as age ...

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 Villahermos ...

in the Honda Group of Colombia. 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, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was cre ...

.org''Cebupithecia sarmientoi''
/ref>

Description

Fossils of ''Cebupithecia'' were discovered in the "Monkey Beds" of the Honda Group, that has been dated to the

, 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, w ...

s of this species were procumbant, suggesting a close relation to ''Pithecia''.Defler, 2004, p.32 and the

canine Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae ** '' Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Dog, the domestic dog * Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy People with the ...

s 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 ''quattuo ...

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 s ...

'', 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 B ...

, 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 technolog ...

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'', '' Micodon'', '' Mohanamico'', '' Saimiri annectens'', ''

Saimiri fieldsi ''Saimiri fieldsi'' is an extinct species of New World monkey in the genus '' Saimiri'' (squirrel 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 Konzentra ...

'' and '' Stirtonia tatacoensis'' have been uncovered.Luchterhand et al., 1986, p.1753Wheeler, 2010, p.133Setoguchi et al., 1986, p.762

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *