title: First record of Mesopithecus (Cercopithecidae, Colobinae) from the Miocene of the Iberian Peninsula.
abstract: We report dental remains of the extinct colobine monkey Mesopithecus from the Turolian (MN13, Late Miocene, ca. 6.23 Ma) locality of Venta del Moro (Valencia, Spain). They include most of the deciduous dentition and the unerupted germs of the first molars of a single infantile individual, as well as two lower left lateral incisors from two additional individuals. On the basis of morphometric comparisons, mainly based on the M1s, these remains are attributed to the Late Miocene species Mesopithecus pentelicus. They represent a significant addition to the knowledge of the deciduous dentition of this taxon, much less well-known than the permanent dentition. Although this genus was widely distributed from the Late Miocene through the Pliocene across Europe, southwestern Asia, Pakistan, and China, until now its occurence in the Late Miocene of the Iberian Peninsula had not been documented conclusively. Hence, the reported remains considerably enlarge southwestwards the known geographic distribution of Mesopithecus. The presence of this genus at Venta del Moro must be understood within the framework of the significant faunal turnover that took place in European faunas during the latest Turolian (the second Messinian mammalian dispersal), which is further documented at this locality by the occurrence of other eastern immigrants. At the same time, the presence of M. pentelicus at this site agrees well with previous paleoenvironmental and sedimentological evidence, indicating a lacustrine depositional environment with strong hydrologic seasonality.
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: david.alba@icp.cat.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Alba
authors.affiliation: Àrea de Paleontologia, Departament de Geologia, Universitat de València, c/ Doctor Moliner 50, 46100 Burjassot, València, Spain. Electronic address: pmontoya@uv.es.
authors.forename: Plini
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Montoya
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: marta.pina@icp.cat.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pina
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via G. La Pira 4, 50121 Firenze, Italy. Electronic address: lorenzo.rook@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rook
authors.affiliation: INCYT-UPSE, Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena, 7047 Santa Elena, Ecuador; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: juan.abella@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abella
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: mcnm166@mncn.csic.es.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Lehman College, CUNY, Bronx, NY, USA; Department of Vertebrate Paleontology and NYCEP, American Museum of Natural History, 79th Street and Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: eric.delson@lehman.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delson
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D016673:Colobinae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D019229:Dentition, Permanent; D005580:Fossils / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013030:Spain; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: Late Miocene; Mesopithecus pentelicus; Spain; Turolian; Venta del Moro