Pau is the name of a new genre of antropomorph, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus (ape from the Catalan Pierola), discovered in Els Hostalets de Pierola, in the Catalan district of l'Anoia, in 2002.Pau és el nom d'un nou gènere d'antropomorf, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus (simi de Pierola català), descobert a Els Hostalets de Pierola, a la comarca catalana de l'Anoia, l'any 2002.
And why 'Pau'?
The team at the ICP decided to call him Pau because during the days when it was being presented to the public, in November 2004, there were large demonstrations taking place against the war in Iraq.
What was he like?
He was an adult male weighing about thirty-five kilos and about 1.2 metres tall.
When did he live?
During the middle Miocene, 13 million years ago.
Why is his discovery important?
Because he has a cranial anatomy and a skeletal design that give us clues to reconstruct the origins of the great living antropomorphs, such as gorillas, orang-utans and chimpanzees, and also man. Up to now the remains of anthromorphs have been scarce.
What implications does he have?
Thanks to this discovery we can confirm that the current great apes, the orang-utans, the gorillas and the chimpanzees, and man himself originated from a group of lower apes, among which we can find the modern gibbons and siamangs, between eleven and sixteen million years ago. It also throws light on the moment when primates adopted an upright position to move more comfortably through the trees. Up to now most experts thought that the ability to hang from trees and the upright position had developed at the same time, but after this discovery it has become clear that this is not true, that first the upright position was adopted, and that we are dealing therefore with two different adaptations.
What does the discovery consist of?
It is an almost complete face, with the teeth and a good part of the skeleton. In total about twenty bones.
What was Pau's face like?
Short with a reduced nasal zone, without a prominent jaw.
And his skeleton?
Pau had a wide low, from front to back, thorax with collarbone.
Where was the discovery made?
In the Can Vila creek, during the work on the extension of the Can Mata landfill tip. In 2002 a group of palaeontologists who were supervising the palaeontological work found the first fragment of skull with the aspect of a primate.zar un primer fragment de crani amb aspecte de primat.
Have other animals been found at the landfill?
Yes. The number of examples of macro fauna is now over 27,000 and over 60 tons of sediment has been extracted to study micro fauna.
What kind of animals lived alongside Pau?
Very diverse fauna. The ancestors of elephants, the rhinoceros and deer, current carnivore, tortoises and other reptiles, which lived between 14 and 12 million years ago.
© 2011 - Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont