Biology:Macaca majori
| Macaca majori Temporal range: Early Pleistocene
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| Fossils | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Genus: | Macaca |
| Species: | †M. majori
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| Binomial name | |
| †Macaca majori Schaub and Azzaroli, 1946
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| Synonyms | |
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Macaca majori, commonly known as the dwarf macaque, is a prehistoric macaque from the Early Pleistocene of Sardinia, Italy.[1] It descended from the Barbary macaque.[2] Its temporal range spans from about 2 million to 0.8 million years ago, during the Nesogoral faunal complex, alongside the goat-antelope Nesogoral, the pig Sus sondaari, the hyena Chasmaporthetes, the pika Prolagus, the shrew Asoriculus, the mole Talpa tyrrhenica, the mustelid Pannonictis, and the dormouse Tyrrhenoglis.[3]
Palaeobiology
Palaeoecology
The tooth microwear in Macaca majori indicates that M. majori likely fed on harder foods and occupied a different dietary niche compared to its mainland fossil relatives. Additionally, the maxillary molars of M. majori are characterised by shorter, blunter cusps relative to its mainland relatives, along with significantly greater enamel thickness. This likewise indicates that M. majori was a durophage that regularly consumed seeds, nuts, and fruits.[4]
References
- ↑ Fleagle, John G. (2013). Primate adaptation and evolution (3rd ed.). Academic Press. ISBN 9780123786333. https://books.google.com/books?id=--PNXm0q2O8C&q=Macaca+majori&pg=PA349.
- ↑ Elton, Sarah; O'Regan, Hannah J. (15 July 2014). "Macaques at the margins: the biogeography and extinction of Macaca sylvanus in Europe" (in en). Quaternary Science Reviews 96: 117–130. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.04.025. Bibcode: 2014QSRv...96..117E. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262770260_Macaques_at_the_margins_The_biogeography_and_extinction_of_Macaca_sylvanus_in_Europe. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
- ↑ Palombo, Maria Rita; Rozzi, Roberto (10 April 2014). "How correct is any chronological ordering of the Quaternary Sardinian mammalian assemblages?" (in en). Quaternary International 328-329: 136–155. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.09.046. Bibcode: 2014QuInt.328..136P. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259102673_How_correct_is_any_chronological_ordering_of_the_Quaternary_Sardinian_mammalian_assemblages. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
- ↑ Plastiras, C. A.; Thiery, G.; Guy, F.; Alba, D. M.; Nishimura, T.; Kostopoulos, Dimitris S.; Merceron, Gildas (2023). "Investigating the dietary niches of fossil Plio-Pleistocene European macaques: The case of Macaca majori Azzaroli, 1946 from Sardinia". Journal of Human Evolution 185: 103454. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103454. PMID 37977021. Bibcode: 2023JHumE.18503454P. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248423001331. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
Wikidata ☰ Q6722409 entry
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