@article{723a08c995854fa89d6e6cb3aacebd31,
title = "A new fossil cercopithecid tibia from Laetoli and its implications for positional behavior and paleoecology",
abstract = "Detailed analyses and comparisons of postcranial specimens of Plio-Pleistocene cercopithecids provide an opportunity to examine the recent evolutionary history and locomotor diversity in Old World monkeys. Studies examining the positional behavior and substrate preferences of fossil cercopithecids are also important for reconstructing the paleoenvironments of Plio-Pleistocene hominin sites. Here we describe a new fossil cercopithecid tibia (EP 1100/12) from the Australopithecus afarensis-bearing Upper Laetolil Beds (∼3.7 Ma) of Laetoli in northern Tanzania. The fossil tibia is attributed to cf. Rhinocolobus sp., which is the most common colobine at Laetoli. In addition to qualitative comparisons, the tibial shape of EP 1100/12 was compared to that of 190 extant cercopithecids using three-dimensional landmarks. Discriminant function analyses of the shape data were used to assess taxonomic affinity and shape variation relating to positional behavior. EP 1100/12 clustered with extant colobines, particularly the large-bodied genera Nasalis and Rhinopithecus. Comparisons reveal that EP 1100/12 belongs to a large-bodied monkey that engaged in arboreal pronograde quadrupedalism. These findings add further support to previous inferences that woodland and forest environments dominated the paleoenvironment of the Upper Laetolil Beds, which supported the diverse community of cercopithecids at Laetoli. The inferred paleoecology and the presence of large-bodied arboreally-adapted monkeys at Laetoli show that A. afarensis had access to a range of diverse habitats, including woodlands and forests. This supports the possibility that A. afarensis, with its potential range of positional capabilities, was able to utilize arboreal settings for food acquisition and refuge from predators.",
keywords = "Australopithecus afarensis, Colobine, Hominin, Locomotion, Pliocene, Rhinocolobus",
author = "Laird, {Myra F.} and Kozma, {Elaine E.} and Amandus Kwekason and Terry Harrison",
note = "Funding Information: The Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology and the Department of Antiquities granted permission to conduct research in Tanzania. We thank all of the members of the 2012 Eyasi Plateau Paleontological Expedition (EPPE) for their tireless efforts in the field. We are grateful to the Director General and staff of the National Museum of Tanzania for their support in the study of the specimen. Special thanks to Agness Gidna, Frank James, and Rashid Njechele for indispensible help in Dar es Salaam. We thank Eileen Westwig at the American Museum of Natural History, Judy Chupasko at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Hannah Taboada at New York University, and Darrin Lunde at the National Museum of Natural History for access to specimens. We thank David Alba, Lissa Tallman, Eric Delson, and one anonymous reviewer for providing helpful comments and improvements to the manuscript. Also, thanks to Denise Su for discussion and advice, Shinan Zhou for data collection assistance, and Cody Prang for specimen scanning. This research was funded by National Geographic Society (grants 6208-98 and 9075-12 ), the Leakey Foundation , New York University Research Challenge Fund , and NSF (grants BCS-0309513 , BCS-0216683 and BSC 1350023 ). Funding Information: The Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology and the Department of Antiquities granted permission to conduct research in Tanzania. We thank all of the members of the 2012 Eyasi Plateau Paleontological Expedition (EPPE) for their tireless efforts in the field. We are grateful to the Director General and staff of the National Museum of Tanzania for their support in the study of the specimen. Special thanks to Agness Gidna, Frank James, and Rashid Njechele for indispensible help in Dar es Salaam. We thank Eileen Westwig at the American Museum of Natural History, Judy Chupasko at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Hannah Taboada at New York University, and Darrin Lunde at the National Museum of Natural History for access to specimens. We thank David Alba, Lissa Tallman, Eric Delson, and one anonymous reviewer for providing helpful comments and improvements to the manuscript. Also, thanks to Denise Su for discussion and advice, Shinan Zhou for data collection assistance, and Cody Prang for specimen scanning. This research was funded by National Geographic Society (grants 6208-98 and 9075-12), the Leakey Foundation, New York University Research Challenge Fund, and NSF (grants BCS-0309513, BCS-0216683 and BSC 1350023). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 Elsevier Ltd",
year = "2018",
month = may,
doi = "10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.02.005",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "118",
pages = "27--42",
journal = "Journal of Human Evolution",
issn = "0047-2484",
publisher = "Academic Press Inc.",
}