Creationism in Crisis - Scientists Reconstruct the Skull of a 12 Million-Year-Old Ancestral Primate

Virtual reconstruction of the face and cranium of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus using CT scans of the original fossil

© Kelsey Pugh

Artist's impression of the face of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus

Credit: Meike Köhler

Extinct Ape Gets a Facelift, 12 Million Years Later | AMNH

No sooner do I write a blog-post in which I predict that it won't be long before yet more scientific papers which quite incidentally refute creationism are published, than along come another one, right on cue.

Of course, since almost all papers dealing with archaeology, paleontology and geology deal with the 99.97% of Earth's history that occurred before 'Creation Week' according to creationist dogma, this is a simple prediction to make. It is actually harder to find a serious science paper dealing with those subjects that doesn't casually refute creationism.

This paper would be embarrassing for creationists on a number of different levels, if they weren’t careful to remain proudly ignorant of it or at least had a strategy for ignoring inconvenient truths. It is a paper on the reconstruction of the face and cranium of an extinct primate that lived about 12 million years ago and which is believed to be close to if not directly ancestral to all the great apes, including humans.

So, we have another of those supposedly missing 'links' this time between the Hominidae and the other primates, and a fossil that is multiple times older than the Universe, according to the creationist creation myths. And yet the creation cult manages to stagger on regardless of all the evidence against it.

The skull is that of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, which was discovered in Catalunya, Spain, early this century:

Tell me all about the extinct ape, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus. Pierolapithecus catalaunicus is not an extinct ape but rather an extinct primate that lived approximately 13 million years ago during the Miocene epoch. It is of particular interest to scientists because it is considered one of the potential ancestors of the great apes and, by extension, humans. Here is some information about Pierolapithecus catalaunicus:

1. Discovery: Pierolapithecus catalaunicus was discovered in the early 2000s in the village of Els Hostalets de Pierola in Catalonia, Spain. The fossil remains consist of partial mandibles, teeth, and limb bones, which provide important insights into the animal's anatomy and way of life.
2. Taxonomy: Pierolapithecus catalaunicus belongs to the Hominidae family, which includes great apes and humans. It is part of the hominoid lineage, which includes modern humans (Homo sapiens), great apes (such as chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans), and their common ancestors.
3. Anatomical Features: Based on the fossil evidence, scientists have noted several key anatomical features of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus. These features include a grasping big toe, which is a characteristic of arboreal (tree-dwelling) primates. The animal likely had long, strong arms, suggesting it was adapted for life in the trees.
4. Bipedal Adaptations: Some researchers suggest that Pierolapithecus catalaunicus displayed certain adaptations for bipedalism (walking on two legs), which is a defining characteristic of hominins (the human lineage). These adaptations include a broad pelvis and an orientation of the femur (thigh bone) that allows for more efficient upright walking.
5. Controversy: The classification and evolutionary significance of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus remain a subject of scientific debate. While some researchers believe it could be a hominin ancestor, others argue that the evidence is inconclusive and that more fossil material is needed to make a definitive assessment.
6. Implications: If Pierolapithecus catalaunicus is indeed a hominin ancestor, it would provide valuable insights into the early stages of hominin evolution and the development of bipedalism. Understanding our evolutionary history is crucial in the study of human origins.
7. Further Research: Scientific investigation and research into this ancient primate continue, and new fossil discoveries may shed more light on its evolutionary significance.

In summary, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus is an extinct primate discovered in Spain that has generated considerable interest in the field of paleoanthropology. It represents an important part of the evolutionary puzzle that connects modern humans and great apes, although more research and fossil discoveries are needed to establish its exact place in the hominoid family tree.

This latest piece of research, carried out by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History with colleagues from Brooklyn College and the Catalan Institute of Paleontology, and published in PNAS, goes some way towards determining that exact place in the hominoid family tree, as a stem Hominid.

The American Museum of Natural History press release explains the work and its significance:

From left, the Pierolapithecus cranium shortly after discovery, after initial preparation, and after virtual reconstruction.

© David Alba (left), Salvador Moyà-Solà (middle), Kelsey Pugh (right)

A new study led by scientists at 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 great ape species that lived about 12 million years ago. The species, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, may be crucial to understanding great ape and human evolution. The researchers describe their findings today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, a species from northeastern Spain first described in 2004, was one of a diverse group of now-extinct ape species that lived in Europe around 15 to 7 million years ago. The species is key to understanding the mosaic nature of hominid (great ape and human) evolution because it is known from a cranium and partial skeleton of the same individual—a rarity in the fossil record.

Features of the skull and teeth are extremely important in resolving the evolutionary relationships of fossil species, and when we find this material in association with bones of the rest of the skeleton, it gives us the opportunity to not only accurately place the species on the hominid family tree, but also to learn more about the biology of the animal in terms of, for example, how it was moving around its environment.

Kelsey Pugh, lead author
Department of Anthropology
Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, USA
And Division of Anthropology
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA

Previous work on Pierolapithecus suggests that an upright body plan preceded adaptations that allowed hominids to hang from tree branches and move among them. However, debate persists about the species’ evolutionary place, partly due to damage to the cranium.

One of the persistent issues in studies of ape and human evolution is that the fossil record is fragmentary, and many specimens are incompletely preserved and distorted. This makes it difficult to reach a consensus on the evolutionary relationships of key fossil apes that are essential to understanding ape and human evolution.

Ashley Hammond, co-author
associate curator and chair of the Division of Anthropology American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.

An interesting output of the evolutionary modeling in the study is that that the cranium of Pierolapithecus is closer in shape and size to the ancestor from which living great apes and humans evolved. On the other hand, gibbons and siamangs (the ‘lesser apes’) seem to be secondarily derived in relation to size reduction.

Sergio Almécija, co-author
Division of Anthropology
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.

In an effort to bring clarity to these questions, the researchers used CT scans to virtually reconstruct the cranium of Pierolapithecus, compare it to other primate species, and model the evolution of key features of ape facial structure. They found that Pierolapithecus shares similarities in overall face shape and size with both fossilized and living great apes, but it also has distinct facial features not found in other Middle Miocene apes. The results are consistent with the idea that this species represents one of the earliest members of the great apes and human family.

Other authors on this study include Santiago Catalano, from the Fundación Miguel Lillo (Argentina); Miriam Pérez de los Ríos, from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid; Josep Fortuny, from the Catalan Institute of Paleontology Miquel Crusafont (ICP); Brian Shearer, from New York University; Alessandra Vecino Gazabón, from the American Museum of Natural History; Salvador Moyà-Solà, from the ICP and ICREA; and David Alba, from the ICP.

Sadly, the main body of the paper in PNAS is behind an expensive paywall, but the abstract and statement of significance is available under a Creative Commons licence:

Significance

One of the persistent issues in studies of ape and human evolution is that the fossil record is fragmentary and many specimens are incompletely preserved and/or distorted. This makes it difficult to reach a consensus on the evolutionary relationships of key fossil apes that are essential to understanding ape and human evolution. Here, we reconstruct the face of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus and analyze its morphology in an evolutionary framework. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that this species represents a basal member of the group including great apes and humans, and provide insight into the facial morphology of the ancestor of the group.

Abstract

Pierolapithecus catalaunicus (~12 million years ago, northeastern Spain) is key to understanding the mosaic nature of hominid (great ape and human) evolution. Notably, its skeleton indicates that an orthograde (upright) body plan preceded suspensory adaptations in hominid evolution. However, there is ongoing debate about this species, partly because the sole known cranium, preserving a nearly complete face, suffers from taphonomic damage. We 1) carried out a micro computerized tomography (CT) based virtual reconstruction of the Pierolapithecus cranium, 2) assessed its morphological affinities using a series of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) morphometric analyses, and 3) modeled the evolution of key aspects of ape face form. The reconstruction clarifies many aspects of the facial morphology of Pierolapithecus. Our results indicate that it is most similar to great apes (fossil and extant) in overall face shape and size and is morphologically distinct from other Middle Miocene apes. Crown great apes can be distinguished from other taxa in several facial metrics (e.g., low midfacial prognathism, relatively tall faces) and only some of these features are found in Pierolapithecus, which is most consistent with a stem (basal) hominid position. The inferred morphology at all ancestral nodes within the hominoid (ape and human) tree is closer to great apes than to hylobatids (gibbons and siamangs), which are convergent with other smaller anthropoids. Our analyses support a hominid ancestor that was distinct from all extant and fossil hominids in overall facial shape and shared many features with Pierolapithecus. This reconstructed ancestral morphotype represents a testable hypothesis that can be reevaluated as new fossils are discovered.

Pugh, K. D.; Catalano, S. A.; Pérez de los Ríos, M.; Fortuny, J.; Shearer, B. M.; Vecino Gazabón, A.; Hammond, A. S.; Moyà-Solà, S.; Alba, D. M.; Almécija, S. (2023)
The reconstructed cranium of Pierolapithecus and the evolution of the great ape face.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 120(44) e2218778120. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218778120

Copyright: © 2023 The authors.
Published by PNAS Open access.
Reprinted under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

If, as now seem likely, Pierolapithecus, or a close relative, is the stem species for the Hominidae, the question remains, how did it get from what is now Spain to sub-Sharan Africa and to southeast Asia where the great apes evolved. Of course, it may have been a widespread species not confined to the Iberian Peninsula.

According to the AI source, ChatGPT3.5:

Where was what is now Spain, 13 million years ago? Approximately 13 million years ago, during the Miocene epoch, the area that is now Spain looked quite different in terms of geography and climate compared to today. Here are some key characteristics of Spain during that time:

1. Geographical Location: Spain was part of the Eurasian landmass and was positioned in roughly the same location it is today, in southwestern Europe. However, the exact shapes and positions of continents can change over geological time scales due to the movement of tectonic plates.
2. Tectonic Activity: During the Miocene, the tectonic plates in the region were actively shifting. The collision of the African and Eurasian plates contributed to the formation of the Betic mountain range in southern Spain.
3. Climate: The Miocene epoch was marked by a warmer and more equable climate compared to today. The climate in what is now Spain was likely warmer and more tropical, with lush vegetation and a diverse range of flora and fauna.
4. Marine Environments: Coastal areas of Spain would have had access to ancient seas and oceans. Fossils of marine life, such as ancient whales and sharks, can be found in the geological record of this period.
5. Fauna: The Miocene was a time of diversification for many mammal species. Inhabitants of the region, in addition to primates like Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, could have included various mammals like rhinoceroses, elephants, and large cats, some of which have left fossils in the region.

It's important to note that while the general location of what is now Spain has remained relatively constant over geological time scales, the specific details of climate, geography, and the distribution of species have changed significantly. The fossil record and geological evidence provide valuable insights into the environmental conditions and the life forms that existed in the region during the Miocene epoch.

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Presumably, if Pierolapithecus catalaunicus is a stem species for the Hominidae, it, or a decedent, must have migrated to Africa?

The question of how and when hominoids (the superfamily that includes great apes and humans) migrated between continents is a complex and long-debated topic in paleoanthropology and evolutionary biology. If Pierolapithecus catalaunicus or a closely related ancestor is indeed a stem species for Hominidae (hominoids), it would imply that these primates or their descendants had a connection to Africa, where the great apes and hominins (our human lineage) ultimately originated.

The scenario of primates migrating between continents over the course of millions of years is certainly plausible and supported by the fossil record and genetic evidence. However, it's important to note that the details of such migrations are still not well understood and are subject to ongoing research and debate. Some key points to consider:

1. Timing of Migration: The exact timing of when hominoids or their ancestors migrated between continents remains unclear. The fossil record is often incomplete, and the dating of ancient fossils can be challenging. The split between African and Eurasian lineages could have occurred at different times and through multiple dispersal events.
2. Environmental Changes: Changes in climate and geography, such as the formation and disappearance of land bridges, would have played a significant role in facilitating or hindering migration between continents.
3. Divergence and Evolution: Over time, as populations of these early primates dispersed and adapted to new environments, they would have undergone evolutionary changes, leading to the divergence of different lineages. Some may have evolved into the great apes, while others led to the hominin lineage.
4. Genetic Evidence: Genetic studies, such as molecular clock analyses, help in estimating when various primate lineages diverged. These studies support the idea of an African origin for hominoids, but the exact details are still being refined.

In summary, the migration of early hominoids from what is now Europe (or other parts of Eurasia) to Africa is a plausible scenario, but the specifics remain an area of ongoing research and debate. The study of paleontology, genetics, and geology all contribute to our understanding of the complex history of primate evolution and human origins.

There is still much to be discovered about the early history of the Hominidae, but none of it is any comfort to creationists since it will aways refute creationism when the gaps are filled in by science because all of it occurred during the 'pre-creation' stage, like almost 3.8 billion years of Earth's history.

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