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Full-Text Articles in Paleontology

A Review Of Theropithecus Oswaldi With The Proposal Of A New Subspecies, Dagmawit Abebe Getahun, Eric Delson, Chalachew Mesfin Seyoum Jun 2023

A Review Of Theropithecus Oswaldi With The Proposal Of A New Subspecies, Dagmawit Abebe Getahun, Eric Delson, Chalachew Mesfin Seyoum

Publications and Research

Theropithecus oswaldi darti, as currently understood, is the oldest Theropithecus taxon in the fossil record and the earliest subspecies in the Theropithecus oswaldi lineage. Theropithecus oswaldi darti is typified at the site of Makapansgat in South Africa, and a similar form (T. o. cf. darti) is usually recognized at Hadar, Dikika, some Middle Awash localities, and Woranso-Mille in Ethiopia. This taxon is also tentatively believed to occur in Kenya at Kanam and Koobi Fora and in Member C of the Shungura Formation in Ethiopia. While there is a general consensus that the East African ‘darti’ specimens are …


The Naming Of Homo Bodoensis By Roksandic And Colleagues Does Not Resolve Issues Surrounding Middle Pleistocene Human Evolution, Eric Delson, Chris Stringer Jan 2022

The Naming Of Homo Bodoensis By Roksandic And Colleagues Does Not Resolve Issues Surrounding Middle Pleistocene Human Evolution, Eric Delson, Chris Stringer

Publications and Research

Roksandic et al. (2022) proposed the new species name Homo bodoensis as a replacement name for Homo rhodesiensis Woodward, 1921, because they felt it was poorly and variably defined and was linked to sociopolitical baggage. However, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature includes regulations on how and when such name changes are allowed, and Roksandic et al.'s arguments meet none of these requirements. It is not permitted to change a name solely because of variable (or erroneous) later use once it has been originally defined correctly, nor can a name be modified because it is offensive to one or more …


Case 3847 – Simopithecus Oswaldi Andrews, 1916 (Currently Theropithecus Oswaldi; Mammalia, Primates, Cercopithecidae), Proposed Conservation By Reversal Of Precedence With Cynocephalus Atlanticus Thomas, 1884., Eric Delson, David M. Alba, Stephen R. Frost, Dagmawit Abebe Getahun, Christopher C. Gilbert Aug 2021

Case 3847 – Simopithecus Oswaldi Andrews, 1916 (Currently Theropithecus Oswaldi; Mammalia, Primates, Cercopithecidae), Proposed Conservation By Reversal Of Precedence With Cynocephalus Atlanticus Thomas, 1884., Eric Delson, David M. Alba, Stephen R. Frost, Dagmawit Abebe Getahun, Christopher C. Gilbert

Publications and Research

The purpose of this application, under Articles 23.9.3 and 81.1 of the Code, is to conserve the usage of the species-group name Simopithecus oswaldi Andrews, 1916 by giving it precedence over its senior subjective synonym Cynocephalus atlanticus Thomas, 1884. Theropithecus is a common to dominant member of the extinct primate community across Africa after 4 million years ago (Jablonski & Frost, 2010) and often co-occurred with extinct humans (Hominini); fossils are also known rarely across Eurasia (Roberts et al., 2014). Most fossil samples are currently included in Theropithecus oswaldi (Andrews, 1916), which is often divided into chrono-geographic subspecies. Cynocephalus atlanticus …


African Land Mammal Ages, John Van Couvering, Eric Delson Dec 2020

African Land Mammal Ages, John Van Couvering, Eric Delson

Publications and Research

We define 17 African land mammal ages, or AFLMAs, covering the Cenozoic record of the Afro-arabian continent, the planet’s second largest land mass. While fossiliferous deposits are absent on the eroded plateau of the continent’s interior, almost 800 fossil genera from over 350 locations have now been identified in coastal deposits, karst caves, and in the Neogene rift valleys. Given a well-developed geochronologic framework, together with continuing revision to the fossil record—both stimulated by the story of human evolution in Africa—and also to compensate for the variation in fossil ecosystems across such great distances, the AFLMAs are biochronological units defined …


An Early Modern Human Outside Africa, Eric Delson Jul 2019

An Early Modern Human Outside Africa, Eric Delson

Publications and Research

Analysis of two fossils from a Greek cave has shed light on early hominins in Eurasia. One fossil is the earliest known specimen of Homo sapiens found outside Africa; the other is a Neanderthal who lived 40,000 years later.


Hip Extensor Mechanics And The Evolution Of Walking And Climbing Capabilities In Humans, Apes, And Fossil Hominins, Elaine E. Kozma, Nicole M. Webb, William Harcourt-Smith, David A. Raichlen, Kristiaan D’Août, Mary H. Brown, Emma M. Finestone, Stephen R. Ross, Peter Aerts, Herman Pontzer Apr 2018

Hip Extensor Mechanics And The Evolution Of Walking And Climbing Capabilities In Humans, Apes, And Fossil Hominins, Elaine E. Kozma, Nicole M. Webb, William Harcourt-Smith, David A. Raichlen, Kristiaan D’Août, Mary H. Brown, Emma M. Finestone, Stephen R. Ross, Peter Aerts, Herman Pontzer

Publications and Research

The evolutionary emergence of humans’ remarkably economical walking gait remains a focus of research and debate, but experi- mentally validated approaches linking locomotor capability to postcranial anatomy are limited. In this study, we integrated 3D morphometrics of hominoid pelvic shape with experimental mea- surements of hip kinematics and kinetics during walking and climbing, hamstring activity, and passive range of hip extension in humans, apes, and other primates to assess arboreal–terrestrial trade-offs in ischium morphology among living taxa. We show that hamstring-powered hip extension during habitual walking and climbing in living apes and humans is strongly predicted, and likely constrained, by …