Upper third molar internal structural organization and semicircular canal morphology in Plio-Pleistocene South African cercopithecoids.
Despite the abundance of cercopithecoids in the fossil record, especially in South Africa, and the recent development of morphometric approaches, uncertainties regarding the taxonomic identification of isolated cranio-dental specimens remain. Because cercopithecoids, nearly always found in stratigraphic association with hominin remains in Plio-Pleistocene deposits, are considered as sensitive ecological and chronological biomarkers, a significant effort should be made to clarify their palaeobiodiversity by assessing additional reliable morphological diagnostic criteria. Here we test the relevance of both molar crown internal structure and bony labyrinth morphology for discrimination of fossil cercopithecoid species. We use microtomographic-based 3D virtual imaging and quantitative analyses to investigate tooth endostructural organization and inner ear shape in 29 craniodental specimens from the South African sites of Kromdraai, Makapansgat, Sterkfontein and Swartkrans and provide the first detailed description of the internal structural condition characterizing this Plio-Pleistocene primate assemblage. Our preliminary results show that enamel-dentine junction morphology could be informative for discriminating highly autapomorphic taxa such as Theropithecus, while semicircular canal shape is tentatively proposed as an efficient criterion for diagnosing Dinopithecus ingens. Further research in virtual paleoprimatology may contribute to the identification of unassigned isolated fossil remains and shed new light on the internal craniodental morphology of extinct primate taxa.
Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, PO Box 2034, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse, UMR 5288 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 37 Allées Jules Guesde, 31 073 Toulouse Cedex 3, France. Electronic address: amelie.beaudet@univ-tlse3.fr.
Amélie
A
Beaudet
Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse, UMR 5288 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 37 Allées Jules Guesde, 31 073 Toulouse Cedex 3, France; Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse, UMR 5505 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France.
Jean
J
Dumoncel
Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.
John Francis
JF
Thackeray
Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives, 561 rue Etienne Lenoir, km Delta, 30900 Nîmes, France; Laboratoire des Travaux et Recherches Archéologiques sur les Cultures, les Espaces et les Sociétés, UMR 5608 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Jean Jaurès), Maison de la Recherche, 5 Allées Antonio Matchado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France; School of Geography Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Laurent
L
Bruxelles
Centre Inter-universitaire de Recherche et d'Ingénierie des Matériaux, UMR 5085 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France.
Benjamin
B
Duployer
Centre Inter-universitaire de Recherche et d'Ingénierie des Matériaux, UMR 5085 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France.
Christophe
C
Tenailleau
South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, Pelindaba, North West Province, South Africa.
Lunga
L
Bam
South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, Pelindaba, North West Province, South Africa.
Jakobus
J
Hoffman
South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, Pelindaba, North West Province, South Africa.
Frikkie
F
de Beer
Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse, UMR 5288 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 37 Allées Jules Guesde, 31 073 Toulouse Cedex 3, France; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.
José
J
Braga
D000818:Animals; D016663:Cercopithecinae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005580:Fossils / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008963:Molar / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010161:Paleodontology; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013019:South Africa
Bony labyrinth; Deformation-based models; Dental internal structure; Old World monkeys; Primate palaeobiodiversity; Taxonomy