title: Miocene small-bodied ape from Eurasia sheds light on hominoid evolution.
abstract: Miocene small-bodied anthropoid primates from Africa and Eurasia are generally considered to precede the divergence between the two groups of extant catarrhines—hominoids (apes and humans) and Old World monkeys—and are thus viewed as more primitive than the stem ape Proconsul. Here we describe Pliobates cataloniae gen. et sp. nov., a small-bodied (4 to 5 kilograms) primate from the Iberian Miocene (11.6 million years ago) that displays a mosaic of primitive characteristics coupled with multiple cranial and postcranial shared derived features of extant hominoids. Our cladistic analyses show that Pliobates is a stem hominoid that is more derived than previously described small catarrhines and Proconsul. This forces us to reevaluate the role played by small-bodied catarrhines in ape evolution and provides key insight into the last common ancestor of hylobatids (gibbons) and hominids (great apes and humans).
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes sense número, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Alba
authors.affiliation: Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA. Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes sense número, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Almécija
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes sense número, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: DeMiguel
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes sense número, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fortuny
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes sense número, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pérez de los Ríos
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes sense número, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pina
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes sense número, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain. FOSSILIA Serveis Paleontològics i Geològics, Jaume I 87, 5è 1a, 08470 Sant Celoni, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Robles
authors.affiliation: Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats at ICP and Unitat d'Antropologia Biològica (Department de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes sense número, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moyà-Solà
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001835:Body Weight; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D003817:Dentition; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development; D006801:Humans; D006922:Hylobates / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development; D010802:Phylogeny; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D013030:Spain