Oreopithecus
Name:
Oreopithecus
(Mountain ape).
Phonetic: Ore-e-o-pif-e-cus.
Named By: Paul Gervais - 1872.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Primates,
Hominoidea, Hominidae.
Species: O. bambolii (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: 1.2 meters tall.
Known locations: Italy, Tuscany &
Sardinia.
Time period: Mid Tortonian to Early Messinian of the
Miocene.
Fossil representation: Multiple individuals, with
some almost complete skeletons.
Oreopithecus
is a paradox as while it is amongst the best known of fossil apes,
there is still much confusion over how this primate lived and was
related to other primates. This confusion is down to how Oreopithecus
displays features that both suggest an arboreal life where it swung
through the tree canopy, to other features that show development
towards a bipedal locomotion.
The
arms of Oreopithecus were long and with high
degrees of motion that are
seen to have been well adapted for brachiation (swinging from branch
to branch). The hands however possessed a very high level of
dexterity closer to that of humans. The pelvis is also short which
when combined with the legs is seen as being better for walking on the
ground. Oreopithecus is still not thought to have
been totally
bipedal, and rather than being directly related to other bipedal
apes, it’s probable that these features are a case of convergent
evolution. The feet are still like those of monkeys which further
suggest that while Oreopithecus was better on the
ground than other
primates, it was not on the ground all the time.
It’s
quite possible that the mix of features seen in Oreopithecus
were
actually born out of its environment, after while many of the fossil
locations of Oreopithecus are connected to the
mainland today, they
would have been isolated by sea during the Miocene. This immediately
cuts down upon the potential food which can result in a species either
becoming smaller so that it does not need so much to keep its body
going, or reducing in population so that there are fewer mouths to
feed. A third survival strategy is available however, but only to
those creatures with the intelligence and capability to implement it.
By
living in the tree canopy, Oreopithecus could
reach foods that were
unavailable to other creatures that were unable to reach up to them.
By also being better able on on the ground however, with the
addition of more dextrous hands for manipulating things, Oreopithecus
could also search for and exploit other food sources, thereby
diversifying in its foraging behaviour. This would allow Oreopithecus
to pick and switch how it would forage depending upon which area was
more abundant in food.
Ultimately
however this diversification may be what cost Oreopithecus
in the
survival stakes. For most of its existence, Oreopithecus
faced no
real threats because of the absence of large predators, therefore it
only had to adapt to the physical conditions of the habitat. Again
this adaptation was to learn how to live on the ground and in the trees
but to the point of being energy efficient, remembering that even
though Oreopithecus could adapt its foraging, the
total biomass
available for food would have still been limited because of reduced
space on an island ecosystem. When places like Tuscany became
connected to the mainland however, this brought about an influx of
new creatures, particularly large predators such as sabre toothed
cats such as Machairodus.
Predators such as these were perfectly
adapted for ambush hunting with reasonable speculation being that they
could have also ventured into the lower tree canopy. With
Oreopithecus adapted for energy efficient locomotion
rather than speed
(something that was not a survival concern before the arrival of big
predators) it was at an immediate disadvantage to these new
predators. Further competition for the same food resources from
other new forms would have increased pressure even further upon the
genus.
Oreopithecus
was once considered to be an early hominid because of the short pelvis
and potential bipedalism; however the features and possible
bipedalism are now considered a case of convergent evolution.
Oreopithecus is today often regarded as being
closely related to
Dryopithecus.
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