Scientists have recreated the face of a species of monkey that lived about 12 million years ago and could be “crucial to understanding human evolution”

It was discovered in northeastern Spain and first described in 2004. He Pierolapithecus catalaunicus It belonged to a diverse group of now extinct monkeys.

A group of scientists have used CT scans to reconstruct a well-preserved skull of a European great ape could be one of the first ancestors of the human race. The researchers say their results are consistent with the idea that this species represents one of the earliest members of the hominin and great ape family. The types Pierolapithecus catalaunicus He was part of a group of monkey species that lived in Europe and are now extinct.

The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The new study led by scientists from the American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn College and the Catalan Institute of Paleontology Miquel Crusafont has reconstructed the well-preserved but damaged skull of a species of great ape that lived about 12 million years ago.

The researchers hoped to learn more about human evolution from the remains because they found both a skull and a partial skeleton from the same individual, which is rare.

Ashley Hammond, associate curator and chair of the Anthropology Department at the American Museum of Natural History, said: “One of the persistent problems in research into the evolution of apes and humans is that the fossil record is fragmentary and many specimens are distorted and incompletely preserved. stayed. . “This makes it difficult to reach consensus on the evolutionary relationships between key fossil apes, which are essential for understanding ape and human evolution.”

The Remains were first excavated in Catalonia, Spain, in 2002 and first reported in the journal Science in 2004. Scientists have unearthed parts of the skull, along with other bones such as vertebrae, ribs and parts of the hands and pelvis.

Lead author Kelsey Pugh, a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History, said: “Features of the skull and teeth are extremely important in resolving the evolutionary relationships between fossil species. When we find this material associated with bones from the rest of the skeleton, this not only gives us the opportunity to place species precisely in the hominid family tree, but also to learn more about the animal’s biology in terms of e.g. how ‘he moved in his environment’.

Previous research on the species suggests it had an upright body and adaptations that allowed it to hang from tree branches and move from tree to tree. But scientists are divided over where the monkey fits in the evolutionary tree, due to damage to the skull.

Researchers used CT scans to virtually reconstruct the skull Pierolapithecus and compare it with other primate species. The researchers discovered this Pierolapithecus It shares similarities in general facial shape and size with fossilized and living great apes.

The The species also has distinct facial features not found in other monkeys of the same period. Co-author Sergio Almécija, senior researcher at the museum’s Department of Anthropology, said: “An interesting result of the study’s evolutionary modeling is that the skull of the Pierolapithecus “It is closer in shape and size to the ancestor from which great apes and humans evolved.” (JO)