A new parapithecine (Primates: Anthropoidea) from the early Oligocene of Libya supports parallel evolution of large body size among parapithecids.

Parapithecines are an extinct subfamily of stem anthropoid primates previously known only from the Jebel Qatrani Formation in Egypt. Here, we describe isolated teeth pertaining to Simonsius harujensis sp. nov., a relatively small-bodied parapithecine from strata near Zallah Oasis in the Sirt Basin of central Libya that is estimated to date to ∼31 Ma on the basis of mammalian biostratigraphy. The dental morphology of S. harujensis sp. nov. is generally intermediate between that of the closely related parapithecines Parapithecus fraasi and Simonsius grangeri, highlighting some of the anatomical features distinguishing the latter taxa and providing further support for their generic separation. A phylogenetic analysis using parsimony methods was performed on a character-taxon matrix incorporating data from the new Libyan parapithecine, virtually all other parapithecids and the proteopithecid Proteopithecus sylviae. Results of this analysis suggest that parapithecids comprise a basal clade consisting of three species of Biretia and a more derived clade including Parapithecinae (Parapithecus and Simonsius) and Qatraniinae (Qatrania, Ucayalipithecus, and Apidium). Body mass estimates for parapithecids were calculated on the basis of regression equations generated to predict body mass from the occlusal area of upper and lower cheek teeth in extant anthropoids. The relatively small body mass of S. harujensis sp. nov. and its reconstructed phylogenetic position as the sister group of S. grangeri, which is the largest known parapithecid, support the convergent acquisition of body mass larger than 500 g among multiple clades of early Oligocene African anthropoids. The new Libyan parapithecine augments previously reported evidence supporting a substantial degree of faunal provincialism across northern Africa/Arabia during the early Oligocene.

A new species of Apidium (Anthropoidea, Parapithecidae) from the Sirt Basin, central Libya: First record of Oligocene primates from Libya.

A new species of Apidium is the most common primate currently known from a newly discovered site near Zallah Oasis in the Sirt Basin of central Libya. Based on current knowledge of the associated fauna, this new species of Apidium is early Oligocene in age, being roughly contemporaneous with faunas from Quarries G and V in the upper part of the Jebel Qatrani Formation in Egypt that also contain species of Apidium. A phylogenetic analysis based on dental characters indicates that the new species of Apidium from Libya is the sister group of Apidium phiomense. Apidium bowni and Apidium moustafai from the Jebel Qatrani Formation in the Fayum are similar in age to the new species of Apidium from Libya, but both of these Egyptian species are more distantly related to A. phiomense from younger stratigraphic levels in the Fayum. This phylogenetic pattern underscores the benefit of enhanced geographic sampling of the fossil record, even in cases where local records are thought to be reasonably comprehensive and well documented. Oligocene parapithecids can be partitioned into two clades corresponding to the subfamilies Parapithecinae (containing Parapithecus and Simonsius) and Qatraniinae (including Qatrania and Apidium). Climatic deterioration during the early Oligocene may have impacted the macroevolutionary dynamics of early Afro-Arabian anthropoids by fostering the fragmentation of forest habitats, thereby promoting allopatric speciation among widespread populations of Apidium and other arboreal taxa.