Topic
Ganlea
About: Ganlea is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4 publications have been published within this topic receiving 85 citations.
Papers
TL;DR: A phylogenetic analysis of amphipithecid relationships suggests that Ganlea is the sister taxon of Myanmarpithecus, a relatively small-bodied taxon that has often, but not always, been included in Amphipithecia, and diminishes the likelihood that amphipitalcids are specially related to adapiform primates.
Abstract: The family Amphipithecidae is one of the two fossil primate taxa from Asia that appear to be early members of the anthropoid clade. Ganlea megacanina, gen. et sp. nov., is a new amphipithecid from the late middle Eocene Pondaung Formation of central Myanmar. The holotype of Ganlea is distinctive in having a relatively enormous lower canine showing heavy apical wear, indicating an important functional role of the lower canine in food preparation and ingestion. A phylogenetic analysis of amphipithecid relationships suggests that Ganlea is the sister taxon of Myanmarpithecus, a relatively small-bodied taxon that has often, but not always, been included in Amphipithecidae. Pondaungia is the sister taxon of the Ganlea + Myanmarpithecus clade. All three Pondaung amphipithecid genera are monophyletic with respect to Siamopithecus, which is the most basal amphipithecid currently known. The inclusion of Myanmarpithecus in Amphipithecidae diminishes the likelihood that amphipithecids are specially related to adapiform primates. Extremely heavy apical wear has been documented on the lower canines of all three genera of Burmese amphipithecids. This distinctive wear pattern suggests that Burmese amphipithecids were an endemic radiation of hard object feeders that may have been ecological analogues of living New World pitheciin monkeys.
61 citations
TL;DR: The anterior dentition of Ganlea suggests that this taxon engaged in seed predation, using its protruding canine as a tool to husk hard fruits and obtain the soft seeds inside.
28 citations
TL;DR: A virtually pristine upper molar of PondaunGia cotteri from the late middle Eocene Pondaung Formation of Myanmar is described, which is the first example of a relatively unworn and well-preserved amphipithecid upper molars ever recovered.
13 citations
TL;DR: Cranial remains associated with an ulna from a single individual pertaining to the amphipithecine Ganlea megacanina are reported, confirming that postorbital closure appeared later than many anthropoid dentognathic characters and evolved convergently in extant tarsiers and anthropoids.
Abstract: Since their discovery in 1927, the phylogenetic status of the Myanmar amphipithecines has been highly debated. These fossil primates are recognized either as anthropoids or as adapiform strepsirrhines. This uncertainty was largely the consequence of a limited fossil record consisting mostly of jaw fragments but lacking the critical cranial elements that might resolve this debate. We report here cranial remains associated with an ulna from a single individual pertaining to the amphipithecine Ganlea megacanina. In addition to anthropoid-like dentognathic characters, Ganlea displays several ulna and skull features that testify to its anthropoid affinities (e.g. short subvertically oriented lacrimal duct, lacrimal foramen and bone inside the orbit, maxillary contribution to the lower orbital rim, fused metopic suture). By contrast to crown anthropoids, however, Ganlea lacks postorbital closure, confirming that postorbital closure appeared later than many anthropoid dentognathic characters and evolved convergently in extant tarsiers and anthropoids. Thus, amphipithecines must now be recognized as stem anthropoids offering a unique window on the early evolution of cranial and skeletal features in anthropoids, and reinforcing the hypothesis of an origin and early diversification of anthropoids in Asia.
9 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2013 | 1 |
| 2010 | 1 |
| 2009 | 1 |