Folivory or fruit/seed predation for Mesopithecus, an earliest colobine from the late Miocene of Eurasia?
Here we compare dental microwear textures from specimens of the fossil genus Mesopithecus (Cercopithecidae, Colobinae) from the late Miocene of Eastern Europe with dental microwear textures from four extant primate species with known dietary differences. Results indicate that the dental microwear textures of Mesopithecus differ from those of extant leaf eaters Alouatta palliata and Trachypithecus cristatus and instead resemble more closely those of the occasional hard-object feeders Cebus apella and Lophocebus albigena. Microwear texture data presented here in combination with results from previous analyses suggest that Mesopithecus was a widespread, opportunistic feeder that often consumed hard seeds. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that early colobines may have preferred hard seeds to leaves.
Merceron
Gildas
G
UMR CNRS 5125 PEPS Paléoenvironnements & Paléobiosphère - University Lyon-1, Campus la Doua, GEODE - 2, rue Raphaël Dubois, 69622 Villeurbanne, France. gildas.merceron@univ-lyon1.fr
Scott
Jessica
J
Scott
Robert S
RS
Geraads
Denis
D
Spassov
Nikolai
N
Ungar
Peter S
PS
D000818:Animals; D002031:Bulgaria; D016673:Colobinae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000523:psychology*; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005580:Fossils; D006115:Greece; D008963:Molar / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018515:Plant Leaves; D012639:Seeds