Sexual dimorphism in early anthropoids.

Abstract

Sexual dimorphism in canine/premolar tooth size and in body size is found among many species of living primates and has been shown to be correlated with social organization. Among extant higher primate species that normally live in the nuclear families consisting of a mated pair with their offspring, adult males and females are similar in body size and in the size of canine and anterior premolar teeth. In contrast, higher primate species living in more 'complex' polygynous groups (either single-male harems or multi-male groups) are characterized by sexual dimorphism in the size of canine/premolar teeth and frequently by body size dimorphism as well. We provide here the first evidence for sexual dimorphism in three species of primates from the Oligocene of Egypt--Aegyptopithecus zeuxis, Propliopithecus chirobates, and Apidium phiomense. This is the earliest record of sexual dimorphism among higher primates and suggests, by analogy with living species, that the earliest known fossil Old World anthropoids lived in polygynous (either single-male harems or multi-male groups) rather than monogamous social groups.