Pliobates

Pliobates Temporal range: 11.6  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Pliobates fossils and reconstruction
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	† Pliopithecidae
Subfamily:	† Crouzeliinae
Genus:	† Pliobates Alba et al. 2015 [1]
Species:	†P. cataloniae
Binomial name
†Pliobates cataloniae Alba et al. 2015 [1]

Pliobates mouthparts and teeth.

Pliobates cataloniae is a primate from 11.6 million years ago, during the Iberian Miocene. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Originally described as a species of stem-ape that was found to be the sister taxon to gibbons and great apes like humans, ^[1] it was subsequently reinterpreted as a non-ape catarrhine belonging to the group Crouzeliidae within the superfamily Pliopithecoidea on the basis of discovery of new dental remains with crouzeliid synapomorphies. ^[4]

Mosaic characteristics

Its anatomy is gibbon-like; prior to this discovery, it was assumed that the ancestral ape bauplan was robust like Proconsul . ^[5] This species has mosaic characteristics of primitive, monkey-like features and the more derived ape characteristics; however, even when originally described it wasn't interpreted as a direct ancestor of modern apes but rather a side-branch that retained the ancestral morphotype and was thus placed in its own family Pliobatidae. ^[6] Its subsequent placement within Pliopithecoidea indicates that it was convergent with apes in elbow and wrist morphology. ^[4]

Palaeobiology

Based on the morphology of its ulna, the methods of locomotion of Pliobates consisted of above-branch quadrupedalism and eclectic climbing, along with suspensory behaviours resembling those of modern spider monkeys. ^[7]

References

1. Alba, David M.; Almécija, Sergio; DeMiguel, Daniel; Fortuny, Josep; de los Rios, Miriam Pérez; Pina, Marta; Robles, Josep M.; Moyà-Solà, Salvador (30 October 2015). "Miocene small-bodied ape from Eurasia sheds light on hominoid evolution". Science . 350 (6260) aab2625. Bibcode:2015Sci...350.2625A. doi: 10.1126/science.aab2625 . PMID   26516285.
2. Bouchet, Florian; Urciuoli, Alessandro; Beaudet, Amélie; Pina, Marta; Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Alba, David M. (2021-12-01). "Comparative anatomy of the carotid canal in the Miocene small-bodied catarrhine Pliobates cataloniae". Journal of Human Evolution. 161 103073. Bibcode:2021JHumE.16103073B. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103073. hdl: 2263/82958 . ISSN   0047-2484. PMID   34628300.
3. Urciuoli, Alessandro; Zanolli, Clément; Bouchet, Florian; Almécija, Sergio; Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Alba, David M (2022). "Semicircular canal morphology of the Miocene small-bodied catarrhine Pliobates cataloniae: Phylogenetic implications". doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.34937.34409.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. Bouchet, Florian; Zanolli, Clément; Urciuoli, Alessandro; Almécija, Sergio; Fortuny, Josep; Robles, Josep M.; Beaudet, Amélie; Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Alba, David M. (2024). "The Miocene primate Pliobates is a pliopithecoid". Nature Communications. 15 (1). 2822. Bibcode:2024NatCo..15.2822B. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47034-9 . PMC   10984959 . PMID   38561329.
5. Barras, Colin (29 October 2015). "Fossil discovery could be the last common ancestor to all apes". New Scientist .
6. Kahn, Amina (29 October 2015). "Ancestor of all apes might not be what scientists expected, new fossil shows". Science Now. Los Angeles Times .
7. Raventós-Izard, Georgina; Monclús-Gonzalo, Oriol; Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Alba, David M.; Arias-Martorell, Julia (May 2025). "Ulnar morphology of Pliobates cataloniae (Pliopithecoidea: Crouzeliidae): Insights into catarrhine locomotor diversity and forelimb evolution". Journal of Human Evolution . 202 103663. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103663 . Retrieved 18 June 2025– via Elsevier Science Direct.