Paralouatta
| Paralouatta Temporal range:Early Miocene-Quaternary
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|---|---|
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| Paralouatta marianaeskull | |
Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Family: | Atelidae |
| Subfamily: | Alouattinae |
| Genus: | †Paralouatta Rivero & Arredondo 1991 |
| Type species | |
| †Paralouatta varonai Rivero & Arredondo 1991
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| Species | |
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Paralouattais aplatyrrhinegenusthat currently contains twoextinctspecies of smallprimatesthat lived on the island ofCuba.
Description
[edit]Paralouatta varonaiwas described from a nearly completecraniumfrom the lateQuaternaryin 1991. This cranium and a number of isolated teeth and postcranial bones were found in theCueva del Mono,a cave site inPinar del Río Province.The initial description of the cranium included a proposal thatParalouatta varonaiwas a close Caribbean relative of the extantAlouatta(howler monkeys) of Central and South America,[1]but this taxonomic placement was called into question with the analysis of the dental remains.[2]Based on shared similarities with the three other Caribbean monkeys,Xenothrix mcgregori,Insulacebus toussaintiana,andAntillothrix bernensis,MacPhee and Horovitz have proposed that the Caribbean primates are part of a monophyletic radiation which entered the Caribbean at theOligocene–Mioceneboundary. Further research confirms this assessment and places these three species in the tribeXenotrichini.[3]However, more recent research restores its close relationship withAlouatta.[4]The postcranial morphology ofParalouattasuggests that it was partly terrestrial,[5]and a likely example ofisland gigantism.[6]
A second species ofParalouatta(P. marianae) has also been described from theBurdigalian(~18 million years old)Lagunitas Formationand is the largestNeotropic primateknown of that epoch.[6]
Paleobiology
[edit]Paralouattahad an estimated body mass of 8.4 kg (19 lb).[4]Analysis of postcranial morphology suggests thatParalouattawas at least somewhat semi-terrestrial, making it the most terrestrial platyrrhine genus known.[7]
References
[edit]- ^Rivero, M. & Arredondo, O. (1991). "Paralouatta varonai,a new Quaternary platyrrhine from Cuba ".Journal of Human Evolution.21(1): 1–11.Bibcode:1991JHumE..21....1R.doi:10.1016/0047-2484(91)90032-Q.
- ^Horovitz, I. & MacPhee, R.D.E. (1999). "The quaternary Cuban platyrrhineParalouatta varonaiand the origin of the Antillean monkeys ".Journal of Human Evolution.36(1): 33–68.Bibcode:1999JHumE..36...33H.doi:10.1006/jhev.1998.0259.PMID9924133.
- ^MacPhee, R.D.E. & Horovitz, I. (2004)."New Craniodental Remains of the Quaternary Jamaican MonkeyXenothrix mcgregori(Xenotrichini, Callicebinae, Pitheciidae), with a Reconsideration of theAotusHypothesis ".American Museum Novitates(3434): 1–51.doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2004)434<0001:NCROTQ>2.0.CO;2.S2CID86051925.
- ^abSilvestro, Daniele; Tejedor, Marcelo F.; Serrano Serrano, Martha L.; Loiseau, Oriane; Rossier, Victor; Rolland, Jonathan; Zizka, Alexander; Antonelli, Alexandre; Salamin, Nicolas (2017)."Evolutionary history of New World monkeys revealed by molecular and fossil data"(PDF).BioRxiv:1–32.Retrieved2019-02-20.
- ^Püschel, Thomas A.; Marcé-Nogué, Jordi; Gladman, Justin; Patel, Biren A.; Almécija, Sergio; Sellers, William I. (2020)."Getting Its Feet on the Ground: Elucidating Paralouatta's Semi-Terrestriality Using the Virtual Morpho-Functional Toolbox".Frontiers in Earth Science.8:79.Bibcode:2020FrEaS...8...79P.doi:10.3389/feart.2020.00079.ISSN2296-6463.
- ^abMacPhee, R.D.E.; Iturralde-Vinent, M.A. & Gaffney, E.S. (February 2003)."Domo de Zaza, an Early Miocene Vertebrate Locality in South-Central Cuba, with Notes on the Tectonic Evolution of Puerto Rico and the Mona Passage".American Museum Novitates(3394): 1–42.doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2003)394<0001:DDZAEM>2.0.CO;2.hdl:2246/2820.S2CID55615855.
- ^Püschel, Thomas A.; Marcé-Nogué, Jordi; Gladman, Justin; Patel, Biren A.; Almécija, Sergio; Sellers, William I. (2020)."Getting Its Feet on the Ground: Elucidating Paralouatta's Semi-Terrestriality Using the Virtual Morpho-Functional Toolbox".Frontiers in Earth Science.8.Bibcode:2020FrEaS...8...79P.doi:10.3389/feart.2020.00079.ISSN2296-6463.
