ExtinctZoo - This Was The Real Planet Of The Apes

Episode Date: August 20, 2024

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Co-Pilot handles the spreadsheets. Learn more at M365Copilot.com slash work. The world today is in some ways a planet of the apes. As we, modern humans are the most populous megafauna and are also the most widely distributed, with populations being found in nearly every biome and on all continents. And seeing that we do belong to the hominoidia's super family, we are technically apes. However, if you've seen the movie, Planet of the Apes, you'll know that we're not really considered part of the equation in the film, with the ape part of the title pretty much

only referring to non-human apes. And when you focus on non-human apes, modern apes, modern Earth suddenly becomes anything but the planet of the apes, since all hominoids minus humans are threatened closely by extinction. On top of this, their range is extremely restricted, with small groups only inhabiting certain parts of Africa and Asia, with a total population of well under one million. But it wasn't always like this,

and once upon a time, apes were among the most successful mammals around, while also being the most dominant primates on Earth. This golden age of apes saw an unprecedented amount of species emerge, which were extremely diverse in both size and adaptations, helping to set the stage for a reign that would span across an entire epoch, specifically the Miocene. This time period first began approximately 23 million years ago, following the end of the Allegocene.

And while its entirety is associated with apes, it actually didn't start with any apes around, since during the very first days they had yet to evolve. Though this did not last very long, and it's believed that a mix of overall primate diversification and an uptick in temperatures worldwide led to a member of the catarinae, otherwise known as Old World monkeys, evolving into the very first ape. Due to the imperfectness of fossilization, we're not 100% sure of who the first ape was. But some paleontologists point to the pro-consul as being the likeliest candidate.

This mammal is so far the oldest known primate that most accept as being an ape, with its fossils dating back to around 22 million years ago. This guy, unbeknownst to it, marked the beginning of what would become, the planet of the apes. Yet it wasn't exactly as ape-like as you'd imagine, since it retained some monkey-like features, including a prono-grade posture, meaning it had a horizontal body position where the trunk was held roughly parallel to the ground. Ultimately, though, it was still unlike anything before it, with some of its more ape-like characteristics, including a stabilized elbow, no tail, being larger in size, and having improved grasping abilities. The last two features were perhaps the most important part in its swift success, as its grasping capabilities

let it better interact with its environment. While its size, which was akin to that of a Bonobo, allowed it to intimidate smaller competition, and within a short period of time, it became the most dominant primate within its environment of Kenya and Uganda, where it lived in subtropical forests, sustaining itself on primarily raw fruits. But the apes would not be confined to just these two countries for long, as within a few A few million years, they managed to further diversify and spread out, thanks to a widespread increase in subtropical forests, their preferred habitat. And soon enough, over 14 distinct genera emerged, who all greatly differed in size,

with the smallest being the size of a capuchin monkey, while the largest, a newer species of Proconsul, could get as big as relatively large male chimpanzees, who as you may know can be absolute units. But despite their varying sizes, one thing they all had in common was mobile hips, shoulders, ankles, hands, and feet, which made them extremely flexible. Additionally, they all had relatively similar diets that were mainly composed of herbivorous matter. However, each learned to specialize in their own niche. With some like the Moro-Pithicus, having developed teeth made to explicitly shear leaves from trees,

while others, like Dendropithicus had dentition that reflected a more broad diet, consisting of leaves, fruits, and flowers. Undoubtedly, though, these guys enjoyed a rather pacifistic lifestyle. But some paleontologists speculate that early apes may have seldomly eaten meat as well. They were also by no means defenseless, seeing that each had canines which could be used for a variety of tasks, including interspecific competition and warding off would-be predators. These adaptations, though, were surely important. And before the end of the early Miocene, the apes had already achieved a higher level of diversity than seen today, and excluding humans, they had also established a larger rule when going

off of how many countries they could be found in. But what these early apes built, so to speak, was nothing compared to what was coming. Because just over 16 million years ago, these primates got a huge boost for Mother Nature, which involved a global drop in sea levels that formed a land bridge between Africa and Eurasia. Many mammals at this time took this opportunity to branch out, and so did the apes. With some paleontologists thinking that it was specifically the Afropithecus and Heliopithecus who were the ones to rise to the challenge, likely passing through Saudi Arabia, and where they then off-shooted into both Asia and Europe.

Interestingly, many of the apes who didn't migrate ended up vanishing, but it wasn't necessarily their lack and taste of adventure that stopped them from leaving Africa, but rather it was something that they were missing that the Afropithecus and Heliopithecus both possessed, and this secret weapon could be found in their teeth, or rather around their teeth. As dental remains belonging to these apes show the presence of very thick enamel coats, i.e. the same thing that forms a hard shell around your very own teeth, protecting them from damage.

The unusual thickness of these prehistoric apes' enamels was likely the key to theirs and their descendant success, since it made it possible for them to eat a wide range of hard foods, like nuts, which are also more common in Eurasian forests. And along with this advantage, they also didn't have to worry about the coldness that we usually associate with parts of Europe and Asia today, as pretty much the entire Miocene epoch was quite a bit warmer than the present. And thus, with relative ease and quickness, apes became widespread throughout Asia and Europe, thus expanding their range to a total of three continents.

This expansion ultimately led to even further diversification, with Europe alone yielding more than 16 different species. To have witnessed Europe during these times would have been quite mind-blowing. As unlike Asia, which still has some surviving apes, Europe is totally ape-less, barring humans, that is. Unfortunately, limited remains have led to very little being known about many of these European members. But we do know a bit about a few, one being the Oreo Pythicus.

And no, sadly, its name has nothing to do with Oreos. This ape could be found in Tuscany and Sardinia, where it lived in swamp-like habitats. But it wasn't its habitat that has fascinated researchers, with its real crowd-pleaser being its ability to stand on two legs. This is obviously a huge deal, yet this ape wasn't a biped like how we. we or some of our forefathers were. Rather, it achieved an erect posture by turning its big toe to a 100 degree angle in relation to its other toes, which essentially turned its foot into a tripod. This ultimately allowed it to prop itself upright, in order to stand taller

and better see predators, like the Macyridus and Metylorus. Yet the tripod technique was overall still flawed, as any meaningful locomotion would have resulted in the Oriopithecus becoming unbalanced, thanks to the angle of its big toe. Meanwhile in Asia, apes were doing even better, consisting of both more species and holding a wider distribution. And a select few could actually be found in both continents, such as the Griffo-Pythicus, who resided in Central Europe and the Asian part of Turkey. It is also in Asia where you would find an ape that you might recognize, a gibbon. This is a family of apes that are still kicking today within certain parts of Asia,

being represented by the hylobates, Hulok, Nomascus, and Symphalanges. And while these modern gibbons can be traced far back in time, they weren't the ones that were around in the Miocene. Instead, the Miacin gibbons consisted of Yuan Moepithecus and one unidentified genus, but they both resided in China. Preliminary studies suggest that these prehistoric gibbons were close and sized modern ones, and could have been remarkably similar in appearance and behavior as well. If accurate, this would mean that they showed low sexual dimorphism, did not make nests,

and participated in long-term relationships, unlike this. many other apes. Additionally, we could expect these guys to have been tree dwellers who used brachiation, a type of locomotion that involves swinging from branch to branch. We also know that there is a chance that these apes had a partial taste for meat, since extant ones have been observed both hunting small birds and consuming bird eggs. This possibility of eating birds may make Gibbons seem a bit nefarious, compared to other myocene apes, but it did not necessarily make them more dangerous. And in reality, the other myocene apes were all possibly still quite aggressive despite having more mundane diets. This is because primates in general are typically

ranked above other mammals when it comes to display aggression, which is a result of primates, especially apes, being extremely territorial and social. Some scientists have also speculated that intelligence could be a part of the equation as well. Of course though, we don't know how smart these prehistoric apes were for certain, but the general consensus is that like most Apes of today, those of the Miocene most likely demonstrated above-average intelligence for a mammal, perhaps even cooperating in a rudimentary fashion, and they might have even used extremely simple tools, an hypothesis based off the fact that even Capuchin monkeys, who are not apes, are sometimes known to use large stones to process tough material.

That being said, none of the apes mentioned so far were likely smart as the primates you typically associate with intelligence, as they were not great apes. Not to worry though, because the Golden Age of Apes did in fact see the rise of the Great Apes themselves. It's not certain when or where they evolved, but it's thought that roughly 17 million years ago, Great Apes had almost certainly already split off from the others, and just four million years later, they, like their lesser relatives, could be located in both Africa and Eurasia. With the Great Apes around, things drastically changed, and new heights were reached

thanks to distinct differences between them and other apes. These differences included larger brains and larger body sizes, the latter of which is what inspired the great in the name great apes, with the average Miocene genus having been about the size of a chimpanzee. Some, though, got quite a bit bigger, as demonstrated by the Indo-Pythicus, the biggest primate to have lived during the entire Miacine. Its name, meaning the Indian ape,

nicely reveals that this great ape inhabited India, with its fossils specifically being restricted to the northern regions. Most of these fossils consisted of teeth and sizable jawbones that were so big that paleontologists used to think that indipithicus wasn't a valigenus and that its members were really gigantapithecus, which is the biggest primate currently known to have ever lived. This stature also led to its scientific name, Gigantius, which speaks for itself. And currently, modern estimates painted to have been about 5 feet or 1.5 meters tall,

while being about the same weight as a gorilla, Earth's current largest primate. But this ape likely wouldn't have looked like any gorilla you've ever seen. Rather, it probably resembled an orangutan, if anything, as it belonged to the Ponginae family, a family of apes whose only living member is the orangutan, making it the Indo-Pithicus's closest living relative. However, unlike the orangutan, studies on the Indo-Pythicus indicate that it didn't spend much time in the trees, and it was a terrestrial creature that forged the grounds,

feasting on large quantities of bamboo, among other foliage. On top of being big, it was quite robust, too, which allowed fully grown adults to be protected from attacks from most predators. Although, despite its heaviness and presumed strength, the Indo-Pithicus was not necessarily the most dominant, nor the most successful great ape of the Miocene, with that title perhaps going to Lu Fang Pythicus, who based off of the sheer amount of its remains,

was likely the most common primate of the Miacine, and it was actually one of the Indo-Pythicus's neighbor, being found in China, and was represented by three different species. Up until now, thousands of fossils belonging to this ape have been discovered, and showed that it was actually a smaller-grade ape, with adults only being about 50 kilograms or 110 pounds, similar to the size of a baboon. Its seemingly high population was likely the result of China containing

expansive evergreen broad-leaved forests that experienced a relatively warm climate throughout the Lu Fang Pythicus' existence. These rich forests provided it with an abundance of food, such as hard and soft fruits. But despite the benefits that these rich forests provided, this great ape still has some considerable obstacles in life that came in the form of potential predators, such as crocodiles and saber-toothed cats.

Disease was also quite rampant, evidenced by multiple specimens bearing signs of gingivitis, a form of gum disease that is relatively common amongst humans today. While Indipithecus had the size, and Lu Fangpithicus had the numbers, there were still a plethora of other interesting great apes that you could have run into. One of the most captivating being, the Danuvius.

This primate lived in what is now Germany some 12 million years ago, and it was unlike any ape before it, as some researchers have labeled it as the first ape to have been able to walk fully upright. This bold claim comes from the discovery of leg bones that were remarkably similar to our own. They also had S-shaped curved spines, which could have been used to help hold their bodies up while standing tall. And the bizarreness did not stop with the legs, as in addition to human-like leg bones, it also had orangutan-like arms, leading its researchers to describe it as an ape and a hominin all in one.

Its robust lanky arms would have allowed it to easily climb up trees and swing from branch to branch. And in life, paleontologists do not think that it relied on one pair of limbs more than the other, and simply used whichever was best fitted for its needs within a given moment. And of course, in true prehistoric fashion, things got even weirder, because on its feet, the Danuvius had something we don't, and that is, strong and posable big toes. The presence of these toes, along with its humanish legs, has made certain people suggest that Danuvius might have been doing the majority of its walking in the trees, where it used its strong toes to grasp branches as it walked on top of them. This would have also freed up its

hands, which could have then been used to collect food, and it offered another means of escaping predators who could climb as well. And so obviously the Danuvius was no doubt a very odd great ape. But of course, due to the sheer diversity of apes at the time, there are plenty more genera merking about that would have widened your eyes in shock. Take Triopithecus, for example, a small great ape who may have exhibited hyperaggression, an hypothesis based off of the growth patterns seen in the male's canines. Or look at Artipithecus, a possible hominin, meaning it belonged to our very own tribe, who was likely strikingly similar to the chimps that we know of today, despite being nearly 6 million years old.

And all in all, paleontologists believed that the Miocene, or rather the true planet of the apes, saw over 100 different species rise up. This absurd amount of species is a striking contrast compared to the just 35 or so species, known from the Pleocene, the epoch that followed, and that's including non-Ape primates too. And sheer numbers wasn't the only indicator of their success,

because as mentioned, their range was far greater than anything ever seen afterwards, and this map really helps to show this. However, the map does bring up a new question, one of great importance, and that is, what exactly happened to the planet of the apes? Well, just like how nature seemingly gave them all they needed to succeed, in other words, a warmer humid climate and expansive forests, it also eventually took everything they needed away.

Basically, as the Miocene widened down, the Earth started to cool and dry, a result of the late Miocene cooling event, which in itself was caused by a drug. drop in atmospheric carbon dioxide and a change on Earth's obliquity, i.e., the angle Earth's axis of rotation is tilted as it travels around the sun. And unfortunately, these shifts were ultimately catastrophic for the dense forests, which the Miocene apes depended on, leading to a slow but assured end of the real planet of the ape.

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