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During the late Miocene Vallesian–Turolian transition, an important faunal turnover affected continental vertebrate faunas, and particularly primates with the replacement of hominids by cercopithecid monkeys in Europe. In order to better understand this turnover from a climatic perspective, stable oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of fossil equid tooth enamel contemporaneous with either hominids or cercopithecids have been analyzed. Hipparion teeth recovered from seven Greek localities spanning from the late Vallesian to the end of Turolian have δ18Op values of apatite phosphate suggesting an increase in mean air temperatures from 13±3°C at the beginning of the Vallesian to 17±2°C during the late Turolian. δ13C values of local plants have been estimated using the carbon isotope compositions of apatite carbonate. By applying to our data the relationship established between the δ13C value of modern C3 plants and mean annual precipitations, estimated average precipitations slightly decreased from 890 (+109 −100) mma−1 to 471 (+58 −54) mma−1 during this time span. According to Köppen's classification of climates, northern Greece was submitted to modern-like Mediterranean climates during the late Miocene. The change in climatic conditions, which took place during the late Vallesian–early Turolian transition, remained within the range of Mediterranean climate modes, thus being unlikely at the origin of a dramatic modification in local vegetation. This study strongly suggests that climate might not be the key factor of the Vallesian–Turolian major faunal turnover at least in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A hominid upper premolar was discovered in the Azmaka quarry, near Chirpan (Bulgaria). The associated fauna, especially the co-occurrence of Choerolophodon and Anancus among the proboscideans, and Cremohipparion matthewi and Hippotherium brachypus among the hipparions, constrains the age of the locality to the second half of the middle Turolian (ca. 7 Ma), making it the latest pre-human hominid of continental Europe and Asia Minor. The available morphological and metric data are more similar to those of Ouranopithecus from the Vallesian of Greece than to those of the early to middle Turolian hominids of Turkey and Georgia, but the time gap speaks against a direct phyletic link, and Turolian migration from the east cannot be rejected. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We here report on fossil remains of the earliest known crown-Testudo, an extant clade of Mediterranean testudinid tortoises from the late Miocene (Vallesian, MN 10) from the hominoid locality Ravin de la Pluie (RPl) in Greece. The material studied is a small, nearly complete carapace with a clearly distinct hypo-xiphiplastral hinge. This supports the sensu stricto generic assignment. This new terrestrial testudinid specimen is characterized by a possible tectiform, narrow, elongated shell with a pentagonal pygal and a long, posteriorly elevated, lenticular and rounded dorsal epiplastral lip. These unique features differ from those of other known Mediterranean hinged forms and allow the erection of the new species Testudo hellenica sp. nov. This taxon is phylogenetically close to two Greek species, the extant T. marginata and the fossil T. marmorum (Turolian, around 7.3 Ma). This record provides evidence for the first appearance of the genus Testudo sensu stricto at a minimum age of 9 Ma., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

A new fossil cranium of a large papionin monkey from the Lower Pleistocene site of Dafnero-3 in Western Macedonia, Greece, is described by means of outer and inner morphological and metric traits using high-resolution micro-computed tomography. Comparisons with modern cercopithecids and contemporaneous Eurasian fossil taxa suggest that the new cranium could equally be ascribed to either the Eurasian Paradolichopithecus or to the East Asian Procynocephalus. The combination of the available direct and indirect fossil evidence, including the new cranium from Dafnero, revives an earlier hypothesis that considers these two sparsely documented genera as synonyms. The timing and possible causes of the rise and demise of Paradolichopithecus - Procynocephalus are discussed., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Eurasia was home to a great radiation of hominoid primates during the Miocene. All were extinct by the end of the Miocene in Western Eurasia. Here, we investigate the hypothesis of climate and vegetation changes at a local scale when the cercopithecoid Mesopithecus replaced the hominoid Ouranopithecus along the Axios River, Greece. Because they are herbivorous and were much more abundant than primates, bovids are preferred to primates to study climate change in the Balkans as a cause of hominoid extinction. By measuring carbon stable isotope ratios of bovid enamel, we conclude that Ouranopithecus and Mesopithecus both evolved in pure C3 environments. However, the large range of δ(13)C values of apatite carbonate from bovids combined with their molar microwear and mesowear patterns preclude the presence of dense forested landscapes in northern Greece. Instead, these bovids evolved in rather open landscapes with abundant grasses in the herbaceous layer. Coldest monthly estimated temperatures were below 10°C and warmest monthly temperatures rose close to or above 20°C for the two time intervals. Oxygen isotope compositions of phosphate from bulk samples did not show significant differences between sites but did show between-species variation within each site. Different factors influence oxygen isotope composition in this context, including water provenience, feeding ecology, body mass, and rate of amelogenesis. We discuss this latter factor in regard to the high intra-tooth variations in δ(18)Op reflecting important amplitudes of seasonal variations in temperature. These estimations fit with paleobotanical data and differ slightly from estimations based on climate models. This study found no significant change in climate before and after the extinction of Ouranopithecus along the Axios River. However, strong seasonal variations with relatively cold winters were indicated, conditions quite usual for extant monkeys but unusual for great apes distributed today in inter-tropical regions., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Here we compare dental microwear textures from specimens of the fossil genus Mesopithecus (Cercopithecidae, Colobinae) from the late Miocene of Eastern Europe with dental microwear textures from four extant primate species with known dietary differences. Results indicate that the dental microwear textures of Mesopithecus differ from those of extant leaf eaters Alouatta palliata and Trachypithecus cristatus and instead resemble more closely those of the occasional hard-object feeders Cebus apella and Lophocebus albigena. Microwear texture data presented here in combination with results from previous analyses suggest that Mesopithecus was a widespread, opportunistic feeder that often consumed hard seeds. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that early colobines may have preferred hard seeds to leaves.