Crouzeliinae

Crouzeliinae is an extinct subfamily of Pliopithecidae primates that inhabited Europe and China during the Miocene, approximately 8-14.5 million years ago[1] - they appear to have originated in Asia and extended their range into Europe between 17 and 13 million years ago.[2] Crouzeliines can be distinguished from the other Pliopithecoidea subfamilies on the basis of uniquely derived dental traits.

Crouzeliinae Temporal range: Early Miocene–Late Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	†Pliopithecidae
Subfamily:	†Crouzeliinae
Genera
Plesiopliopithecus Anapithecus Laccopithecus Egarapithecus Barberapithecus

Dental morphology

As with nearly all Pliopithecoid taxa, Crouzliines are distinguished from the other Pliopithecoidea subfamilies, Dionysopithecinae and Pliopithecinae, on the basis of dental morphology.

"Crouzeliines in general differ from plioplithecids (Dionysopithecinae and Pliopithecinae) in having sharper, more bilaterally compressed cusps more displaced between the margins of the crowns, resulting in larger, relatively deep occlusal basins (except the distal basin, which is restricted and lingually offset)[3][4][5] ... Crouzeliines also differ in having elongated molars and premolars with sharp, well-developed crests, particularly between the trigonids and talonids and along the crown margins."

— David Begun, The Pliopithecoidea[1]

Classification

The Crouzeliinae subfamily is defined on the basis of the type genus, Crouzelia.[3][6] Some authors have synonymized this genus with Plesiopliopithecus,[1][5] whereas others retain the distinction.[7] Regardless, the suprageneric taxon has remained,[1] and has been further divided into two distinct tribes: Crouzeliini and Anapithecinii.[7] Crouzeliini is made up of four morphologically similar species, all of which are placed into the same genus (Pleisopliopithecus auscitanensis, Pleisopliopithecus rhondanica, Pleisopliopithecus lockeri, and Pleisopliopithecus priensis). In contrast, Anapithecini contains four species, each of which is a unique genus (Anapithecus hernyaki, Laccopithecus robustus, Egarapithecus narcisoi, and Barberapithecus huerzeleri).[7]

References

1. Begun, David (2002). The Pliopithecoidea (PDF). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 521 66315 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-25. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
2. Harrison, Terry (2012). "Chapter 20 Catarrhine Origins". In Begun, David (ed.). A Companion To Paleoanthropology. Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-118-33237-5. Archived from the original on 2013.
3. Ginsburg, Leonard; Mein, Pierre (1980). "Crouzelia rhondanica, nouvelle espece de Primate catarrhinien, et essai sur la position systematique des Pliopithecidae". Bulletin du Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris (4): 57–85.
4. Begun, David (1989). "A large pliopithecine molar from Germany and some notes on the Pliopithecinae". Folia Primatologica. 52: 156–166. doi:10.1159/000156394.
5. Andrews, Peter; Harrison, Terry; Delson, Eric; Bernor, Raymond; Martin, L (1996). Distribution and Biochronology of European and Southwest Asian Miocene Catarrhines. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-08246-0.
6. Ginsburg, Leonard (1975). "Les Pliopitheques des faluns helvetiens de la Touraine et de l'Anjou". Colloques Internationaux du Centre national de la recherche scientifique. 218: 877–886.
7. Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Köhler, Meike; Alba, David (2001). "Egarapithecus narcisoi, a New Genus of Pliopithecidae (Primates, Catarrhini) From the Late Miocene of Spain". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 114 (4): 312–324. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1043. PMID 11275960.