#Oreopithecus

[philoursmars]

Je reviens à mon projet de présenter la plupart de mes 55000 photos (nouveau compte approximatif. On se rapproche du présent !).

2016. Une journée à Paris. Le Musée de l’Homme: je n’ai malheureusement pas tout noté mais :

- la première : Oréopithèque - Europe, -8Ma (miocène)

- la cinquième: Homo ergaster

- la dernière : Emmanuel Fremiet : “L’Homme de l’Âge de pierre”

[earlypalaeoart]

"Vue ideale d'un paysage d'Amerique pendant l'epoque quaternaire" [Ideal view of an American landscape during the Quaternary period] by Edouard Riou, from La terre avant le déluge [The world before the deluge] by Louis Figuier, 6th edition, 1867

https://archive.org/details/laterreavantled00figu/page/401/mode/1up

[paleonativeart]

Day 15: Oreopithecus bambolii

A extinct genus of hominoid primate from Miocene of Italy.

[o-craven-canto]

Gods of Salt, or the “““real””” origins of humankind

Might as well post it here directly. (original link, full text under the cut)

« Certainly Nature, when she left the making ⁠Of animals like these, did well indeed, ⁠By taking such executors from Mars; And if of elephants and whales she doth not ⁠Repent her, whosoever looketh subtly ⁠More just and more discreet will hold her for it; For where the argument of intellect ⁠Is added unto evil will and power, ⁠No rampart can the people make against it. » – Inferno, Canto XXXI, 49-57

Consider the following facts:

#1: The Mediterranean Sea loses more water to evaporation than it receives from rivers: it only maintains its level thanks to influx from the Atlantic. Between 6.0 and 5.3 million years ago, in the late Miocene epoch, the closure of the Gibraltar Strait caused the Mediterranean to dry out. This is known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis, and it left vast deposits of gypsum and rock salt. At its apex, this event would have reduced the sea to a few puddles of hypersaline water, similar to today's Dead Sea, surrounded by scorching desert - with temperatures possibly reaching over 40°C due to high pressure. Its islands and peninsulas would have turned to massive mountain ranges up to 5 km tall ([1]). This event ended with the so-called Zanclean Flood, when the Atlantic waters rushed back into the basin, through not one but a series of waterfalls. The overall drop was more than a km, and the discharge of water has been estimated at a thousand time that of the Amazon River ([2]). That's enough to refill the whole Mediterranean in less than 20 years. A sumberged barrier, known as Camarinal Sill, forms the shallowest part of the strait, at only 280 meters below sea level ([3]).

#2: Nevertheless, despite its terrible conditions, the Mediterranean Basin still had enough hospitable land to allow animals to move from Africa to Europe, and vice versa. In fact, the climate, flora, and fauna of Africa and Europe were very similar in the Miocene. Dwarf species of hippopotami and elephants have been found in Cyprus, Crete, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, the Balearics: all the main islands of the Mediterranean. The lowland-dwellers could have lived along rivers like Po, Rhone, and Nile, which would have cut much deeper valleys.

#3: The Miocene was also a time of great diversity of mammals. In particular, it was the golden age of elephants (which existed in every continent but Australia) and apes (which were even abundant in Europe). European apes included the swamp-dwelling Italian Oreopithecus, 9-7 million years old, which had a pelvis suited for an almost bipedal locomotion ([4]), and hands more capable of precision gripping than those of any living non-human ape ([5]). As for elephants, Primelephas, the likely common ancestor of mammoths and all living elephants, lived in Africa at the end of the Miocene.

#4: Molecular studies place the separation between the lineages of humans and chimpanzees between 7 and 5 million years ago, later than Oreopithecus, and corresponding with the Messinian event. Recent estimates push the divergence backward, even to 10-12 million years ago; however, controversial studies suggest that the two lineages exchanged genes as recently as 4 million years ago ([6]). Clearly the process of separation was more complex than we realized at first, and involved some degree of hybridization between the recent lineages.

#5: The Mediterranean region contains a vast diversity of halophytes, plants than can grow despite high concentrations of salt. Many of these are suitable for human consumption: the oil-rich salicornia (Salicornia sp., eaten both fresh and pickled), the cabbage-like sea kale (Crambe maritima, which grows spontaneously on sandy beaches), the spinach-like sea orach (Atriplex halimus, a close relative of which is grown in India as vegetable and livestock fodder). The argan tree (Argania spinosa) is extremely resistant to both salt and drought, and is prized in Europe and North Africa for its wood and oil. ([7])

#6: The list of Mediterranean halophyte species is actually much wider, but many plants that grow in these conditions are not useful to humans: for example, the Mediterranean beard-grass (Polypogon maritimus), a close relative of oat and wheat, much less nutritious than either. Note, however, that elephants (much more common and diverse in this region in the Miocene) have very low nutritional requirements, and can feed on almost any type of vegetable matter. Now, a key characteristic of the Miocene epoch is a wide spreading of grasslands, replacing the forests that earlier covered most of the globe, triggering a wave of adaptation and diversification among mammals. In fact, between 10 and 5 million years ago, the diet of elephants has switched from leaves to tall grass, a change that can be seen in the shape of their teeth ([8]). Only in the last million years elephants have reverted to eating leaves ([9]).

#7: Until recently, the divergence between humans and chimpanzees had been linked to this event: the ancestors of chimpanzees would have remained in the thick rainforests of West Africa, while humans evolved in the new savannas of the east. This places human evolution entirely in eastern and southern Africa until the last million years or so. This view has been challenged by recent finds. In 2002, the 7-6 million years-old Sahelanthropus tchadensis, a serious contender as common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, was discovered in Chad, in North Africa. Its foramen magnum suggests an already bipedal pace, as with Oreopithecus ([10]). In 2017, curiously human-like teeth, 7.2 million years old, were attributed to Graecopithecus, in Greece ([11]). Finally, in the same year, 5.6 million years old footprints that clearly show bipedal locomotion were found in Crete ([12]). All of this suggests that the earliest human evolution occurred at first in the Mediterranean region.

#8: The intelligence of elephants is well known. Their brain, over 5 kg heavy, has more cortical gyres than any primate or cetacean, and they might rank in intelligence besides chimps and dolphins ([13]). They form matriarchal herds with extremely strong interindividual bonds and great capacity for cooperation and reciprocal help. They are the only known non-human animals that seem to have ritual behavior related to death ([14]). Pregnant elephants have been observed chewing on leaves of a Boraginacean tree, used to induce labor or miscarriage by Kenyan women ([15]). They can use branches as simple tools, cover water pools to prevent evaporation, and use logs to disable electric fences ([16]). They can recognize themselves in the mirror ([17]), and seem to have artistic inclinations ([18]). Such abilities are especially astonishing in view of such an energy-poor diet. Yet we have seen that their diet was very different in the latest Miocene - that there are plants that grow in the Mediterranean region, could be eaten by ancient elephants, increased in diversity at that time, and are closely related to our food crops.

#9: The elephants' trunk is a dexterous organ of manipulation, capable of handling single seeds and inspecting delicate bodyparts like eyes. Nevertheless, having only one grasping organ could be a handicap for an active tool user (the two fingerlike tips are unique to the African species, and probably didn't exist in Miocene elephants). The trunk can lift loads of hundreds of kilograms, but it's poor at grasping large objects, and can only wrap around them. In comparison, the hands of apes are much more versatile, especially after the innovation we have seen in Oreopithecus. In addition, the same amount of food that sustains an elephant with its single trunk can support not two, but several ape hands - especially since high-energy primate food can pack nourishment in a much smaller mass, even when inedible to elephants. #10: African elephants in reserves readily initiate contact with humans, often forming long-lasting individual bonds, and often prefer to interact with humans than with other animals of their environment. Many of these elephants appear more relaxed and at ease near humans than near even other elephants. This effect has been documented in species with a long history of domestication by humans, such as dogs and horses. ([19]).

Let's place everything together. Six million years ago, near the end of the Miocene epoch, the natural closure of the Gibraltar Strait turned the Mediterranean Sea into a salty desert. The few inhabitable spaces provided a safe passage between Africa and Europe for many species; elephants and apes, which had been increasing in diversity for all the Miocene, were among them.

The depths of the new Mediterranean basin, on the other hand, were a hellish environment that must have forced many species into desperate adaptations. Many plants learned to grow in sand, long before the Sahara became a desert, with concentrations of salt that would kill most others. Elephants, we've seen, are good at finding and storing water, using tools to prevent evaporation from reserves. They must have evolved their characteristic intelligence to deal with the unique challenges of the Mediterranean Basin. Like the Khoisan hunter-gatherers of the Kalahari desert (or for that matter the earliest Homo sapiens) they needed advanced problem-solving skill, good memory, and the ability to cooperate and trust each other. Their eventual solution to ensure themselves a food supply in the great basin was agriculture. Many Mediterranean halophytes are edible even in the seed- and fruit-focused human diet; but the sapient elephants of the Miocene could feed even on simple grass. Cereals like Polypogon - which are, after all, nothing more than especially nutritious grass - must have been a blessing. Perhaps they were even selected artificially to tolerate more saline soils, as could have been the precious argan tree.

Still, the burgeoning elephantine civilization was slowed down by their sluggish reproduction and by their limited capacity for manipulation. The trunk was very effective, but every elephant could only hold one thing at a time. They must have experimented with many forms of animal labor (as well as hydraulic, etc.), but none of the many animals of their region could help them handle objects, make cheap craftwork, or operate machines. Eventually, they started working with apes. Maybe they took a sample of Oreopithecus descendants or Graecopithecus from the northern highlands. They were clever animals, forged by the same cruel environment, capable of understanding gestures and executing simple orders. They wouldn't take away the hard leaves and grass of their masters, but they would eat almost anything else (to the elephants, the ability to digest meat must have seemed extremely precious). They had hands: two hands to grasp a broad object without handles, to scatter seeds on a field, or to hold hammer and chisel in the making of a triumphal arch. So the elephants found themselves ruling over a vast caste of small, nimble, infinitely versatile slaves. Surely they must have tried to enhance them through selective breeding, as humans did with dogs and horses, creating features similar to the short jaws and small teeth of humans, or the peaceful countenance of bonobos. Their genes still bear traces of closely related lineages being interbred. They certainly encouraged a bipedal gait, so that the precious hands remained always free. With ape-servants so common and useful, crawling all around like living robots, elephants must have had little incentive to improve their technology further.

Remember the air at the bottom of the Basin was very thick: it's likely the elephants were specially adapted to breathe it, and would feel much discomfort outside of their cradle. They never ventured beyond what today is the coastline of the Mediterranean, which must have looked like impassable mountains to them. However, they could have sent their servants in exploration on the great islands: leaving, for example, the mysterious footprints of Crete. The proboscidean rulers probably didn't have much more concern for their primate slaves than humans have for cows in a slaughterhouse. Even though they couldn't eat them, they could still fashion their skins and bones into precious objects; sacrifice them to elephantine gods atop of a ziggurat raised by their work; make them fight in blood games or proxy battles; use them for carnal gratification or for medical experiments. The different proclivities of humans, bonobos, and chimpanzees can be understood as specialization for such tasks. We can only wonder what the apes could understand of their condition.

The civilization of elephants had 600,000 years to develop between the Messinian Crisis and the Zanclean Flood: thrice the age of our own species. Certainly they studied in depth their secluded world. As the sea level started to increase on the Gibraltar Strait, they would have probably predicted the danger, and built a massive dam to block the way of the Atlantic waters. Maintaining this dam must have been the highest priority. But there were certainly those who didn't believe this looming danger. And in the end the central sin of the elephantine empire must have caught up to them. What could have distracted the elephants from preserving the Mediterranean Basin as they found it? Probably action from those who had nothing to lose from utter destruction - such as ape-slaves who had finally crossed the threshold of self-awareness. Or rather a preemptive action from those who feared a revolt more than their own annihilation? Some kind of sabotage action, perhaps, that ended a millennia-spanning history by breaking down the great dam, letting the ocean pour into the Basin with an unimaginable catastrophe, and turn it back into a sea.

Some survived, both apes and elephants. They must have been few, perhaps outcasts that had fled, or had been exiled, to the outer highlands. Gradually they accustomed themselves again to the thin air (maybe this didn't even require evolutionary adaptation, just individual assuefaction; but the lords below were used to comfort...). Some were stranded on the new islands, and became the dwarfs of Cyprus, Crete, Sicily. The others scattered into the wilderness of Africa and Europe. Without the infrastructures of the submerged empire, unprepared for the different environment outside, they were unable to rebuilt their civilization. Most of them had been poorly inserted in society, and their intellective faculties weren't the highest, either as a cause or a consequence of their isolation. Alone, they reverted to wild animals, and became gentler than they ever had been when they were civilized beings. They still retain the vestigial skills of artists and doctors; they still mourn the death of their kin. The surviving apes, now free, wandered back into the heart of Africa, passing through Chad. Some found shelter in the jungles of Congo and Nigeria, others in the savannas of Kenya and South Africa, that perhaps reminded them of the flat lands where they were bred into their new shape.

Five million years after that unimaginable disaster, silt has covered all the ruins on the Mediterranean seafloor, and the "domesticated apes" have left Africa in three waves of migration. Now they control the world, from coastlines to mountains, they remake its land into cities and farms, and they hold in their power the fate of the distant descendants of their ancient masters. It remains to be seen whether they will choose to be merciful or vindictive. Aren't five million years enough to expiate any sin?

[cmaidaartworkblog]

Oreopithecus bambolii bust (sans hair) Digital Sculpture (Sculptfab+SculptGL) 2019

[dredfunn]

Illustration 28 for Bob Gymlan YouTube video titled the full story of Nandi bear #dredfunn #freddunn #wipart #wip #youtube #youtuber #youtubechannel #art #artistsoninstagram #artwork #artist #comics #comicart #comicbooks #comicbookart #inktober #inkdrawing #inkart #bobgymlan #oreopithecus #dinopithecus #ancientprimates #ancientart #apeart https://www.instagram.com/p/CHwTUe6AUxe/?igshid=cubdady5ncyi

[netmassimo]

An article published in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" reports a study on fossils of Oreopithecus bambolii, an ape that lived between 6.7 and 8.3 million years ago, in the Miocene period, in today's Italy. A team of researchers examined the lower part of the torso of an individual belonging to this species of hominoids, part of the most complete skeleton known for this species. The conclusion is that it was bipedal but didn't walk upright and didn't climb trees.

[alphynix]

Between about 9 and 7 million years ago, the modern regions of Tuscany, Corsica, and Sardinia were once part of a single island in the ancient Mediterranean Sea.

And since evolution often goes in weird directions on isolated islands, it's no surprise that some unusual species developed there.

One of which was a very odd duck.

[From fig 4 in Williams, M. F. (2008). Cranio-dental evidence of a hominin-like hyper-masticatory apparatus in Oreopithecus bambolii. Was the swamp ape a human ancestor?. Bioscience Hypotheses, 1(3), 127-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bihy.2008.04.001]

Bambolinetta lignitifila lived during the Late Miocene, about 7.5 million years ago. Known from a single partial skeleton discovered in the mid-1800s, it was initially thought to be a fairly normal dabbling duck and wasn't properly re-examined until 2014, when its strange features were finally recognized.

It was a medium-sized duck, probably around 50cm long (1'8"), but it had much chunkier wing bones than its relatives, with noticeably shortened forearms – looking much more like the wings of an auk or penguin, and suggesting that it was a similar sort of wing propelled diver. This is incredibly weird for a duck, since every other known diving species uses feet for propulsion instead, and so Bambolinetta may be the only known waterfowl to ever develop this type of underwater locomotion.

It's not clear whether it was still capable of flying or not. There were few predators in its habitat, so it may well have become completely flightless – and that could also be the reason it later went extinct. Sea levels in the region began to drop around 7 million years ago, reconnecting the Tusco-Sardinian island to the European mainland, and Bambolinetta's high level of ecological specialization and its potential island tameness would have given it little defence against an influx of new unfamiliar predators.

———

Nix Illustration | Tumblr | Pillowfort | Twitter | Patreon

[knowledgeistreasure]

New study suggests 'enigmatic hominoid' did not walk upright and was not a tree climber.

An international team of researchers has concluded that the so-called "enigmatic hominoid" did not walk upright and was also not a tree climber. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their in-depth study of the skeletal remains of Oreopithecus bambolii and what they learned from it.

O. bambolii was a primate living in what is now Sardinia and Tuscany approximately 6.7 to 8.3 million years ago. Evidence of its existence was first discovered as far back as 1872. Since that time, scientists have debated its primary means of locomotion. Some have suggested that it was a tree climber, others disagreed, insisting it had evolved to become an upright walking terrestrial creature. Over time, it has come to be known as the "enigmatic hominoid." In his new effort, the researchers sought to settle the debate once and for all by studying the most complete skeleton that has ever been found—one unearthed in 1958 while workers were digging a coal mine. Prior research had shown the skeleton to be that of a 30-kilo male.

[michaelalberta]

Oreopithecus (9 MA to 7 MA) spent most of the time in water before becoming H.Erectus Georgicus http://michaelalberta.blogspot.com/2018/03/oreopithecus-9-ma-to-7-ma-spent-most-of.html

[wecityguidecom]

Visit Sardinia: Detailed Sardinia Guide for 2020

If you want to have a holiday with hot sun, golden beaches, clean air and nature all together you should visit Sardinia Island. Sardinia Island is an island where is politically one of the 20 regions of Italy located in the Mediterranean Sea, west of Italy mainland and north of Tunisia. This unique and wonder of nature island one the 5 in Italy where have a special degree of autonomy and specific statue at the Italian constitution. Sardinia Island is the home of more than 1.6 million people based on the latest census and around %10 of it lives in the Cagliari, capital city. You may find the topic you will read on this post below and go directly to the section want to read. In this Sardinia Island Travel Guide, you will find detailed information and hidden insights about what to do, where to see and how to spend your time in Sardinia Island during your time in the glamorous island of Italy. I also added an interactive map to this post. You will check all the places given in this post on the interactive Sardinia Guide map.  Sardinia Island History I always think that it is better to know the history of Sardinia Island before visiting Sardinia. If you want to write the history of Sardinia Island history you should write at least thousand of words. Because Sardinia Island has a very-long standing history through pages of the past. We can basically say that this island is pre-historic! Yes, that's true! The oldest primate called Oreopithecus bambolii is dated to 8.5 Read the full article

[jaimeariansencespedes]

019 - SALUD - HISTORIA – CRONOLOGÍA - (15-30) -

15 - Presentamos con profundo respeto y admiración la historia cronológica de cientos de personalidades que han brindado su talento, su experiencia, su obra, con amor y un objetivo sublime y común; contribuir a la conquista de mejores condiciones de vida para el hombre, derrotando a la enfermedad y escribiendo la maravillosa historia de la Alimentación y las Ciencias de la Salud.

16 - 5,000'000,000 - La tierra se condensó a partir de gas y polvo interestelar creados por la divina energía que lo originó todo y se inicia la evolución.

17 - 4,000'000,000 - Comienza la vida en los océanos de la tierra primitiva.  Una molécula unicelular fue capaz de reproducirse. Fue el primer antepasado del ADN, ácido desoxirribonucleico, la molécula básica de la vida.

18 - 3,000'000,000 - Aparecen los primeros organismos multicelulares, se unen dos o más unicelulares y comparten sus propiedades como un conjunto, son los flagelados.

19 - 2,000'000,000 - Dos variedades de células múltiples se juntan e intercambian su código genético, esta es la evolución que da origen al sexo, ejemplo el vulvox.

20 - 500'000,000 - En la era cámbrica aparecen formas de vida más desarrolladas como las medusas, los trilobites y los cryptolithus.

21 - 400'000,000 - El primer pez es el Ostracodermo no tiene mandíbulas, esta cubierto con escamas duras y respira en la superficie del agua.

22 - 350'000,000 - El primer anfibio pisa la superficie de la tierra en búsqueda de alimento, sus branquias se han transformado en pulmones y sus aletas en patas.

23 - 250'000,000 - Liberados del agua los reptiles conquistan la tierra, de diferentes formas y tamaños, uno de los primeros fue el feroz thecondonte.

24 - 180'000,000 - Y aparecen los pájaros, uno de los primeros en volar fue el archeopteryx -de gran tamaño-.  Su evolución fue lenta y difícil.

25 - 150'000,000 - Los dinosaurios dueños de la tierra, son de     colosales tamaños, el alosaurio, el tiranosaurio, el brontosauro, el stegosaurio, el braquiosaurio y otros cada cual más poderoso. Pesan hasta 50 toneladas.

26 - 120'000,000 - Después de reinar en la tierra por cerca a cien millones de años -sin que la ciencia lo explique claramente hasta ahora- los dinosaurios, formidables criaturas van desapareciendo misteriosamente y ceden la tierra a pequeños mamíferos insectívoros que viven en los árboles y que tendrán como descendientes a los monos, antropoides y hominidos.

27 - 80'000,000 - En la era cenozoica del paleoceno viven unos seres de características muy especiales los pro-simios.

28 - 40'000,000 - En la era cenozoica del oligoceno aparecen unos antepasados más evolucionados los simios.

29 - 25'000,000 - En la era cenozoica del mioceno aparecen los pongidos, y en evolución sucesiva el procónsul, dryopithecus, ramapithecus y oreopithecus bamboli.

30 - 15'000,000 (aC) En la era cenozoica del plioceno aparecen unos ascendientes directos, los homínidos. Historia de la salud - jaimeariansen@outlook.com

[mysololaki]

Новости высоких технологий | Почему древние обезьяны не умели ходить на двух ногах и не жили на деревьях?

Новости высоких технологий | Почему древние обезьяны не умели ходить на двух ногах и не жили на деревьях?

В одной из наших предыдущих статей мы рассказывали о том, как современные обезьяны научились ходить на двух ногах. Это действительно очень интересная тема для изучения, ведь миллионы лет назад наши далекие предки передвигались исключительно при помощи четырех конечностей и практически не поднимались на деревья. Одними из таких древних приматов были так называемые ореопитеки (Oreopithecus…

[yo-sostenible]

La pelvis del enigmático ‘Oreopithecus’ aporta nueva luz sobre su bipedismo

Un nuevo estudio con participación española ha analizado con detalle la pelvis y vértebras lumbares de Oreopithecus bambolii, un primate de unos 7 millones de años de antigüedad. La investigación, publicada en la revista PNAS, aporta nuevas evidencias sobre la locomoción de este controvertido hominoideo

Esqueleto de Oreopithecus bambolii y detalles de la pelvis y las vértebras lumbares. / PNAS

[fyuris]

Strange Swamp-Dwelling Prehistoric Ape That Moved Unlike Anything Alive Today Poses ...

The lumbar region of the spine shows that Oreopithecus did not have a stiff lower spine like living great apes, so it probably moved with more spinal ... from Google Alert - lumbar spine https://ift.tt/2tJnjqh

[nicosarart]

Evolución del hombre

( DA CLICK EN TODAS LAS PALABRAS SUBRAYADAS )

Hace 20 millones de años se desarrolla el Dryopithecus

Surge un salto sobre el Oreopithecus hacia el Ramapithecus se encuentra hace 14 millones de años

.De allí se genera el primer homínido a el cual llamaran el Australopithecus vivió entre los 3,9 y 3 millones de años. Era de contextura delgada y grácil, y se cree que habitó solo en África del este.

Luego sigue Homo Erectus vivió entre 2 millones de años y 70 000 años antes del presente

Después llega el Homo sapiens del latín Homo - Hombre  Sapiens - Sabio, poseen capacidades mentales que les permiten crear, aprender y utilizar.

Y por ultimo el Homo sapiens sapiens, también conocido como Neantropido, es el Hombre que sabe que sabe, es decir, es consciente que es mas pensante que otros grupos o comunidades.