Monkey Fossils Unearthed In China Date Back 6.4 MILLION Years
Small fossils have been unearthed in [/news/china/index.html China] that belonged to a monkey about 6.4 million years ago.
The remains were found a southeastern Yunan Province mine, tour shangrila making them the oldest to be found outside of Africa.
Researchers from Penn State University have obtained a heelbone and jawbone with teeth that are believed to have been a female.
Although the fossils resemble bones of modern-day monkeys living in East Asia, the team found that the ancient animals had the ability to ferment cellulose - similar to that of today's cows.
The remains were found a southeastern Yunan Province mine, making them the oldest to be found outside of Africa.
Researchers from Penn State University have obtained a heelbone and jawbone (pictured) with teeth that are believed to have been a female
Nina G. Jablonski, tour Lệ Giang Evan Pugh University Professor of Anthropology, Penn State, said: 'This is significant because they are some of the very oldest fossils of monkeys outside of Africa.'
'It is close to or actually the ancestor of many of the living monkeys of East Asia.
One of the interesting things from the perspective of paleontology is that this monkey occurs at the same place and same time as ancient apes in Asia.'
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The Penn State team worked with paleontologists at Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology to uncover the mysteries of the remains.
Together they reported that 'The mandible and proximal femur were found in close proximity and are probably of the same individual,' in a recent issue of the Journal of Human Evolution.
The team determined the jawbone and heelbone (pictured) belonged to a female and believe this type of monkey was a 'jack of all trades' that roamed both through the trees and on land
The jawbone and heelbon were found a southeastern Yunan Province (red) mine, making them the oldest to be found outside of Africa
The team determined the remains belonged to a female and believe this type of monkey was a 'jack of all trades' that roamed both through the trees and on land.
'The significance of the calcaneus is that it reveals the monkey was well adapted for moving nimbly and powerfully both on the ground and in the trees,' said Jablonski.
'This locomotor versatility no doubt contributed to the success of the species in dispersing across woodland corridors from Europe to Asia.'
The team was also given teeth from the ancient monkey that reveals it fed on a variety of plants, fruits and flowers.
'The thing that is fascinating about this monkey, that we know from molecular anthropology, is that, like other colobines (Old World monkeys), it had the ability to ferment cellulose,' said Jablonski.
'It had a gut similar to that of a cow.'
These monkeys survived on low-quality food that was high in cellulose, which gave them sufficient energy through fermentation that producedsubsequent fatty acids from the bacteria.
'Monkeys and apes would have been eating fundamentally different things,' said Jablonski.
'Apes eat fruits, flowers, things easy to digest, while monkeys eat leaves, seeds and even more mature leaves if they have to.'
These monkeys did not live near bodies of water and kynghidongduong.vn the team says they were still able to survive in periods of dramatic climate change.
Pictured is an artist impression of what the ancient animal may have looked like
'Because of this different digestion, they don't need to drink free water, getting all their water from vegetation.'
These monkeys did not live near bodies of water and the team says they were still able to survive in periods of dramatic climate change.
