Feeding ecology of the last European colobine monkey, Dolichopithecus ruscinensis

International audienceCurrently, very little is known about the ecology of extinct Eurasian cercopithecids. Dietary informationis crucial in understanding the ecological adaptations and diversity of extinct cercopithecids and theevolution of this family. For example, the colobine genus Dolichopithecus is represented by multiplelarge-bodied species that inhabited Eurasia during the Pliocene-Early Pleistocene. The available evidence,though limited, suggests semiterrestrial locomotion, which contrasts with most extant African and Asiancolobines that exhibit morphological and physiological adaptations for arboreality and folivory. Thesedifferences raise questions regarding the dietary specialization of early colobine taxa and how/if thatinfluenced their dispersion out of Africa and into Eurasia. To further our understanding of the ecology ofPlio-Pleistocene cercopithecids, we characterized the dental capabilities and potential dietary adaptationsof Dolichopithecus ruscinensis through dental topographic and enamel thickness analyses on an M1from the locality of Serrat d'en Vacquer, Perpignan (France). We also assessed the feeding behavior ofD. ruscinensis through dental microwear texture analysis on a broad sample of fossil molars from fossilsites in France, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. Dental topographic and enamel thickness analyses suggestthat D. ruscinensis could efficiently process a wide range of foods. Results of the dental microwear textureanalysis suggest that its diet ranged from folivory to the consumption of more mechanically challengingfoods. Collectively, this suggests a more opportunistic feeding behavior for Dolichopithecus than characteristicof most extant colobines