Theropithecus oswaldi

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Theropithecus oswaldi
Temporal range: Pleistocene
Theropithecus NMNH.jpg
Fragmented jaw
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Theropithecus
Species:
T. oswaldi
Binomial name
Theropithecus oswaldi
(Andrews, 1916)
Subspecies
  • T. o. oswaldi
  • T. o. ecki
Synonyms
  • Simopithecus oswaldiAndrews, 1916
  • Simopithecus jonathoni

Theropithecus oswaldi is an extinct species of Theropithecus from the early to middle Pleistocene of Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, Spain, Morocco and Algeria. [1] The species went extinct in South Africa around 1.0 Ma. [2] Having existed alongside hominins like Homo erectus , it is likely that conflict with early humans played a role in their extinction as a site has been found with many juveniles butchered. [3] [4]

Contents

Description

It is remarkable for its large size compared to other Old World monkeys. One source projects a specimen of Theropithecus oswaldi to have weighed 72 kg (159 lb). [5] Postcranial fossils found of this species are much greater in size than extant papionins, including the mandrill. [6]

Palaeoecology

According to δ13C values from fossils of the species from Swartkrans, it was a specialised grazer. [7] A dental microwear study based on fossils from the Omo Valley suggests that the diet of T. oswaldi, like that of the modern day gelada, consisted primarily of the aerial parts of herbaceous monocots and dicots. [8] T. oswaldi fossils are also known from Elandsfontein, [9] where they subsided on diets mainly composed of C3 plants as both browsers and grazers. [10]

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References

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  4. Getahun, D. A., Delson, E., & Seyoum, C. M. (2023). A review of Theropithecus oswaldi with the proposal of a new subspecies. Journal of human evolution, 180, 103373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103373
  5. Jablonski, Nina; Leakey, Meave; Anton, Mauricio (1 January 2008), Jablonski, N.G. Leakey, M.G. and Anton, M. (2008) Systematic Paleontology of the Cercopithecines. In: Jablonski, N.G. and Leakey, M.G. (eds.) Koobi Fora Research Project. Volume 6. The Fossil Monkeys. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, pp. 103–300., pp. 103–300, retrieved 3 May 2020
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