First record of Theropithecus (Cercopithecidae) from the Republic of Djibouti

Authors :: Denis Geraads
Louis de Bonis
Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P)
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Laboratoire de paléontologie, évolution, paléoécosystèmes, paléoprimatologie (PALEVOPRIM )
Université de Poitiers-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Source :: Journal of Human Evolution, Journal of Human Evolution, Elsevier, 2020, 138, pp.102686. ⟨10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102686⟩
Publication Year :: 2020
Publisher :: Elsevier BV, 2020.
Abstract: International audience; We describe here several specimens of the genus Theropithecus from the southern shore of Lake Assal in the Republic of Djibouti; they are the first record of the genus from this country. We assign them to a derived stage of T. oswaldi. This identification has implications for the age of the informal ‘Formation 1’ from this area, which should probably be assigned to the Middle Pleistocene. In addition, the presence of T. oswaldi close to the Bab el Mandeb Strait strongly suggests that the species followed this route to India, rather than a more northern one.