Oligocene primates from China reveal divergence between African and Asian primate evolution
Oligocene primates from China reveal divergence between African and Asian primate evolution
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DOI：
10.1126/science.aaf2107
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发表时间：
2016-05
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Xijun Ni;Qiang Li;Lüzhou Li;K. Beard
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Xijun Ni;Qiang Li;Lüzhou Li;K. Beard
气候过滤优势物种始新世和渐新世之间的过渡时期的特点是明显的冷却。由于灵长类物种特别容易受到寒冷的影响，这种气候变化导致全球灵长类动物的退缩。在这一转变之后，灵长类动物在非洲-阿拉伯地区占主导地位，但对亚洲灵长类动物的重建知之甚少。Ni等人描述了在中国云南省发现的10种以前未知的灵长类动物，表明灵长类动物在亚洲采取了不同的道路。与狐猴不同，链鼻猴（类似狐猴）灵长类动物占主导地位。目前还不清楚这种差异是由于环境还是偶然。化石证据表明，灵长类动物的进化在亚洲和非洲遵循不同的道路。在大约3400万年前的始新世-渐新世过渡（EOT）期间，深刻的环境和动物群变化与气候恶化有关。重建亚洲灵长类动物对EOT的反应一直受到该大陆渐新世灵长类动物稀少记录的阻碍。在这里，我们报告了一个多样的灵长类动物群的发现，从早渐新世的中国南方。与非洲-阿拉伯渐新世灵长类动物群形成鲜明对比的是，亚洲动物群以链鼻兽为主。古近纪和新近纪亚洲类恐龙组合之间似乎存在一个强烈的间断。亚洲和非洲-阿拉伯灵长类动物群对EOT气候恶化的反应不同，这表明EOT作为一个关键的进化过滤器，限制了整个旧大陆灵长类动物进化的后续过程。
Climate filters dominant species The transition between the Eocene and Oligocene periods was marked by distinct cooling. Because primate species are particularly susceptible to cold, this change in climate drove a retraction of primates globally. After this transition, anthropoid primates were dominant in Afro-Arabian regions, but little has been known about primate reestablishment in Asia. Ni et al. describe 10 previously unknown primates found in Yunnan Province in China that show that primates took a different path in Asia. Instead of anthropoids, strepsirrhine (lemur-like) primates were dominant. It is still unknown whether this difference was due to the environment or chance. Science, this issue p. 673 Fossil evidence suggests that primate evolution followed different paths in Asia and Africa. Profound environmental and faunal changes are associated with climatic deterioration during the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) roughly 34 million years ago. Reconstructing how Asian primates responded to the EOT has been hindered by a sparse record of Oligocene primates on that continent. Here, we report the discovery of a diverse primate fauna from the early Oligocene of southern China. In marked contrast to Afro-Arabian Oligocene primate faunas, this Asian fauna is dominated by strepsirhines. There appears to be a strong break between Paleogene and Neogene Asian anthropoid assemblages. Asian and Afro-Arabian primate faunas responded differently to EOT climatic deterioration, indicating that the EOT functioned as a critical evolutionary filter constraining the subsequent course of primate evolution across the Old World.