Taxonomic and evolutionary affinities of Papio izodi fossils from Taung and Sterkfontein

Abstract

Papio izodi is an extinct papionin found at Taung and Sterkfontein. The taxonomic status of southern African fossils sometimes referred to P. izodi is clarified here in order to verify the existence of the species at Sterkfontein and define the morphological characteristics distinguishing it from P. angusticeps, a later species of similar size. P. izodi may be the earliest known species of the genus Papio in southern Africa, as the putative contemporary presence of the derived species Papio hamadryas robinsoni cannot be confirmed at Sterkfontein. P. izodi retains some of the primitive features found in Parapapio broomi, suggesting a close evolutionary link between the two species.