1997/10/14 by Meike Köhler, Salvador Moyà‐Solà · 4 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Primate Behavior and Ecology #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Postcrania #Australopithecus #Convergent evolution #Biology #Hominidae #Evolutionary biology #Morphology (biology) #Predation #Primate #Biological evolution #Zoology #Ecology #Phylogenetics #Taxon
paper · doi:10.1073/pnas.94.21.11747
openalex publication_date 1997/10/14 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/18
Comparative morphological and functional analyses of the skeletal remains of Oreopithecus bambolii, a hominoid from the Miocene Mediterranean island of Tuscany-Sardinia (Italy), provides evidence that bipedal activities made up a significant part of the positional behavior of this primate. The mosaic pattern of its postcranial morphology is to some degree convergent with that of Australopithecus and functionally intermediate between apes and early hominids. Some unique traits could have been selected only under insular conditions where the absence of predators and the limitation of trophic resources play a crucial role in mammalian evolution.