Primates, LINNAEUS, 1758

Primates View in CoL

Primate fossils always attract special scientific interest, mainly due to their significance in understanding human evolution. As far as the Thermopigi (SIT) site is concerned, of the three fossil primate elements, humerus, distal tibia and complete calcaneus, the latter is of particular interest, as its morphology provides important information about its kinship and allows conclusion about its locomotion and substrate preferences. Due to its direct contact with preferred substrates, the calcaneus is considered a relatively good indicator of the locomotion patterns. In this context, Youlatos et al. (in press) investigated the morphological and functional aspects of the SIT calcaneus using univariate and multivariate morphometric approaches that allow thorough discrimination of positional groups related to substrate preferences, with the aim of providing a qualitative and quantitative morphofunctional description. Ways in which these primates used and shared their paleoenvironment are assessed. Their results indicate clear terrestrial tendencies. Moreover, the morphology of the SIT distal tibia also corroborates the findings of the calcaneus, indicating strong similarities to more terrestrial Macaca spp. , as well as Papio and Theropithecus . Considering the terrestrial lifestyle of both species and the terrestrial adaptations of the calcaneus, Mesopithecus delsoni from Thermopigi substantiates the terrestrial adaptations of this early colobine species (see also Bogdanova et al. 2023).

As far as Milia (MIL) is concerned, the two fossil primate elements,the proximal ulna and the tibia are of particular interest, as their morphology provides important morphofunctional information. Both elements provide evidence for increased terrestriality, although the tibia demonstrates a certain mobility of the hindlimb, suggesting a mixed habitus, with an emphasis on the use of the ground with occasional use of arboreal substrates. It should be noted that with the present study, the picture of the paleofauna of the area is completed, and we can now continue on to more certain results for the early Villafranchian (MN 16a) and the paleoenvironment, which is unique for Greece and rare in Europe.

Regarding the PRC site, an indicative collection of sediments from the new site was made during the micromammal survey. During the washing process, the teeth of primates emerged from among several opercula of gastropods. Primate teeth are of particular interest, as their morphology provides new data on the occurrence of the colobine genus Dolichopithecus in northern Greece and the Balkans in general.