Mammalian interchanges between Africa and Eurasia: an analysis of temporal constraints on plausible anthropoid dispersals during the Paleogene

Abstract

Paleogene temporal and paleogeographic constraints on mammalian faunal interchange between Africa and Eurasia are reassessed in order to discuss the origin of Primates, Anthropoidea, and Catarrhini. During the late Paleocene to early Eocene interval, the fossil record indicates faunal exchange between Africa and the North Tethyan areas involving several groups of mammals, such as the earliest primates, carnivores, and some archaic ungulates. The polarities of such dispersal events are unresolved to date. Regarding the paleogeography of anthropoid origins, previous cladistic assessments argued for a dispersal from Asia to Africa during the early Eocene. However, faunal exchange during that period has been documented only between Africa and Europe. A speculative basis for an Asian origin of African zegdoumyid rodents is the only body of evidence that suggests that the earliest anthropoids might have migrated to Africa from Asia. Finally, according to the putative occurrence of catarrhines (amphipithecids) in the middle Eocene of Asia, a middle Eocene migration event towards Africa is proposed, although this is supported only by hystricognath and anomaluroid rodents, and by anthracotheriid artiodactyls. In conclusion, the early paleobiogeographic history of anthropoids remains conjectural because of the lack of phylogenetic resolution.

Anthropoid versus strepsirhine status of the African Eocene primates Algeripithecus and Azibius : craniodental evidence

“…This result, along with the recent discovery of a putative early Eocene eosimiid in India (Bajpai et al 2008; see also Rose et al 2009) and the well-supported basal position of this primate family within the anthropoids (Kay et al 1997;Jaeger & Marivaux 2005;Bajpai et al 2008), seems to support a South Asian origin for anthropoids (Beard 2004(Beard , 2006 and a subsequent dispersal into Africa during the middle Eocene. Such a mammalian dispersal event between Africa and South Asia has also been proposed for several groups including anthracotheriid artiodactyls, and anomaluroid and hystricognathous rodents (Tabuce & Marivaux 2005;Gheerbrant & Rage 2006). However, this paleobiogeographical issue for the early evolution of anthropoids is complicated by (i) the morphological gap between African parapithecoids and Asian eosimiids and (ii) the poorly documented omomyiform Altiatlasius from the late Paleocene of Morocco (Sigé et al 1990), which was recently reconsidered either as a stem primate (Tabuce et al 2004;Marivaux 2006;Silcox 2008) or a possible eosimiid-like anthropoid (Beard 2004(Beard , 2006Seiffert et al 2005a;Marivaux 2006;Bajpai et al 2008; our phylogenetic results, see figure S2 in the electronic supplementary material).…”

A new and primitive species of Protophiomys (Rodentia, Hystricognathi) from the late middle Eocene of Djebel el Kébar, Central Tunisia

“…Interestingly, the middle Eocene was marked by a global warming recorded at the beginning of the Bartonian ("Mid Eocene Climatic Optimum" -MECO; Zachos et al, 2008;Bohaty et al, 2009;Vandenberghe et al, 2012). In this climatic context, the question arises as to whether these changes in the global paleoenvironmental conditions at that time have played a significant role in the dispersals of this rodent group but also other mammal groups from Asia to Africa, and then to South America (Marivaux et al, 2000(Marivaux et al, , 2005b(Marivaux et al, , 2011(Marivaux et al, , 2014Tabuce & Marivaux, 2005;Sallam et al, 2009Sallam et al, , 2010aAntoine et al, 2012;Chaimanee et al, 2012;Barbière & Marivaux, in press). In all cases, the much warmer and wetter conditions recorded at that time have certainly factored into the initial and successful adaptive radiations of hystricognaths in both Gondwanian landmasses.…”

Zegdoumyidae (Rodentia, Mammalia), stem anomaluroid rodents from the Early to Middle Eocene of Algeria (Gour Lazib, Western Sahara): new dental evidence

“…For the two past decades, the existence of palaeobiogeographical links between Asia and the Afro-Arabian landmass during the Palaeogene has been documented among other rodents (hystricognathous), primates (anthropoids), artiodactyls (anthracotheres), and proboscideans (e.g. Ducrocq 1995Ducrocq , 1997Ducrocq , 2001Chaimanee et al 1997;Antoine et al 2003;Dawson et al 2003;Marivaux et al 2000Marivaux et al , 2002Marivaux et al , 2005Tabuce & Marivaux 2005;Gheerbrant & Rage 2006;Sallam et al 2009;Jaeger et al 2010). Most of these aforementioned mammalian groups (except proboscideans; see Antoine et al 2003) are interpreted as having invaded Afro-Arabia from Asia, although the mode, the precise timing, and the pathways by which dispersals occurred remain unknown.…”