Virtual reconstruction and analysis of the face of DFN3-150 Paradolichopithecus aff. arvernensis specimen from Dafnero, Greece

The systematics of the Eurasian Late Pliocene – Early Pleistocene monkey Paradolichopithecus is a long-debated topic in primate paleontology. This taxon’s phylogenetic position has implications for our understanding of cercopithecid evolution: while it is often regarded as a baboon-like Macacina, an alternative taxonomic attribution to the Papionina subtribe has been proposed. This would challenge the commonly accepted hypothesis that baboons constitute an endemic African clade. Here, we reconstructed the face of the subadult female DFN3-150 Paradolichopithecus aff. arvernensis cranium from the Lower Pleistocene site Dafnero (Greece), using novel virtual techniques and following alternative protocols. We performed a geometric morphometrics investigation of its morphological affinities with two extant papionin genera. Our results allow for a critical evaluation of the two applied retrodeformation protocols and support stronger facial morphological similarities with Papio spp. than macaques. This is in agreement with recent studies evaluating its phenotypic and ecological traits. Nevertheless, direct inferences on phylogenetic affinities require a larger and more diverse papionin sample.