A new fossil cebine from hispaniola

Abstract

An incomplete mandibular fragment of a cebine monkey from an early Holocene Haitian cave deposit adds to the small but growing list of fossil Antillean primates. The jaw is of the correct size to belong to the same taxon as the partial maxilla of "Saimiri" bernensis from the Dominican Republic. Both finds probably represent a single species whose proximate ancestry lay closer to Cebus than to Saimiri, although more evidence will be required to substantiate this. No close relationship of the Hispaniolan fossils to the Jamaican platyrrhine Xenothrix is indicated. How monkeys managed to penetrate the West Indies is a biogeographical puzzle of the first order. Geographical vicariance events, island-hopping, and purposeful or inadvertent introduction by humans seem rather implausible devices. On the whole, long-distance, over-water rafting from the Americas remains the most likely mechanism for past land vertebrate immigration into the Caribbean.

An extinct monkey from Haiti and the origins of the Greater Antillean primates

“…This hypothesis and its reasoning was endorsed by Rosenberger and colleagues (31,38). Rímoli (3), MacPhee and Woods (11), and Ford (36) have suggested cebine affinities for A. bernensis based on limited dental evidence. The recovery of a complete skull of A. bernensis (5) provided additional evidence in support of this interpretation; however, newly discovered material now under study is causing the authors to question this interpretation.…”

“…The youngest associated dates are late Holocene, with X. mcgregori dated to 2,145 ± 220 14 C years before present (8), and this species may have persisted into the European-era historical period (9,10). Two 14 C dates pertaining to material from Hispaniola are 3,850 ± 135 (3) and 9,550 ± 150 (11). Insulacebus toussaintiana represents the newest addition to this enigmatic fauna.…”

Preliminary notes on a newly discovered skull of the extinct monkey Antillothrix from Hispaniola and the origin of the Greater Antillean monkeys

“…The first specimen was described as a new species of Saimiri by Rímoli (1977). MacPhee and Woods (1982) agreed that CENDIA-1 is cebine, but elevated it to a new genus, Antillothrix. Some researchers continue to regard Antillothrix as a cebine (Saimiri plus Cebus) (Rosenberger, 2002;Rosenberger et al, 2010), while others combine Antillothrix, Paralouatta and Xenothrix into a clade that they consider to be a sistertaxon to Callicebus (MacPhee et al, 1995;Horovitz, 1999;MacPhee and Horovitz, 2004) (Fig.…”

“…The only extinct species formally described is Antillothrix bernensis, based on the type maxilla preserving P 3 eM 1 , root sockets for C 1 and P 2 , and a referred fragmentary mandible with M 2 (Rímoli, 1977;MacPhee and Woods, 1982;MacPhee et al, 1995). Another specimen consisting of a skull reassembled from fragments, associated with postcranial bones of a young adult Antillothrix, was reported after submission of this manuscript (Rosenberger et al, 2010).…”

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“…Un primate registrado también en sedimentos del Pleistoceno tardío de República Dominicana y Haití, anteriormente conocido como «Saimiri» hernensis, fue relacionado con el actual Saimiri (Rimoli, 1977), pero las comparaciones demostraron afinidades con Cehus (Rosenberger, 1978;Mac Phee y Woods, 1982). Recientemente, fue elevado a la categoría genérica después de prolongadas discusiones por causa de sus dudosas similitudes con Saimiri, tras lo cual se lo denominó Antillothrix hernensis .…”