Dionisios Youlatos

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki | AUTH · School of Biology

Archaeoprimatology intertwines archaeology and primatology to understand the ancient liminal relationships between humans and nonhuman primates. During the last decade, novel studies have boosted this discipline. This edited volume is the first compendium of archaeoprimatological studies ever produced. Written by a culturally diverse group of schol...

A tooth-bearing mandible fossil of a colobine monkey discovered at Shuitangba, Zhaotong, Yunnan, China, was morphometrically analyzed and compared with extant Asian colobines. Our previous qualitative and quantitative descriptions indicate that it can be safely attributed to Mesopithecus pentelicus, a Miocene fossil colobine widely found in Europe...

Four sites in northern Greece, presented here, are of particular interest, due to the presence of fossil primates and carnivores in Late Miocene and Pliocene assemblages. The Thermopigi site in eastern Macedonia is particularly important, due to its demonstrable Late Miocene assemblage of more than twenty different species of large mammals, includi...

The evolutionary development and phylogenetic division between Asian and African cercopithecoids (Cercopithecidae) have attracted significant attention in genetics, molecular biology, behavior, and morphology. However, less emphasis has been placed on how they have evolved morphologically after divergence, approximately 10 million years ago (mya) f...

The continuing biodiversity loss represents a global environmental crisis and a major challenge for the 21st century, highlighting the need for improved biomonitoring. However, classical survey methods are often prone to human errors due to difficulties in identifying cryptic species and species in early life stages and may be unreliable in identif...

The species is widespread and is considered to be common, in a multitude of different habitats, mainly throughout continental Greece. It is also found in several protected areas. However, population trends are unknown, thus, more research is needed to better understand the distribution and habitat use of the species. For these reasons it is assesse...

Spermophilus citellus is found in only three areas in northern Greece (AOO= 124km2) where it is divided in small, isolated subpopulations. Most of the populations are found outside protected areas. Suitable and available habitats are rapidly declining due to a number of localised threats. Populations are small and severely fragmented and have furth...

The species appears to be widespread, in a multitude of different habitats, mainly throughout continental Greece, the Peloponnese, and in a few islands. However, its distribution seems to be discontinuous and it is considered rather rare, although population trends are unknown. It is also found in several protected areas. More research is needed to...

Sciurus anomalus is found only on the island of Lesvos in numerous localities. It occurs in pine and broadleaf forests and in mosaic agricultural areas. Suitable habitat is rapidly declining. Its population has been estimated to be around 500-3000 individuals and has also a declining trend due to habitat loss and fragmentation, and poaching. Theref...

Glis glis is widespread, in a multitude of different habitats, mainly throughout continental Greece, the Peloponnese, and in many islands. It is also found in several protected areas. However, population trends are unknown, it seems to be rather common and widespread where it occurs. For these reasons it is assessed as Least Concern (LC). However,...

Dryomys nitedula is widespread, in a multitude of different habitats, mainly throughout continental Greece, the Peloponnese, and in some Aegean islands. It is also found in several protected areas. However, population trends are unknown, and more research is needed to better understand the distribution and habitat use of the species. For these reas...

The species is widespread throughout continental Greece, the Peloponnese, Crete, and many islands. It is also found in several protected areas. It is characterized by low densities, although locally abundant, and is heavily hunted. Its AOO, EOO and population trend are inferred to decline. However due to the big number of locations where the specie...

Myomimus roachi is a rare species known from sparse records from Anatolia, European Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece. Its presence in Greece was very recently verified, through cranial material in owl pellets, in a single locality in NW Evros (AOO= 4km2 and 1 location). Recent research effort provided no more information on its presence in the area. It...

The species is found mainly in the Aegean islands, including Crete and Evia, as well as a few Ionian islands. There are no available data on the population status overall or of that of the subpopulations on the different islands. Subpopulations display severe fluctuations and are subject to many diseases and hunting, either as small game or as pest...

Apart from northern and central China, the fossil record of the latest Miocene and Early Pliocene of Asia is not well documented and the record of South China during this interval is especially poor. Shuitangba, a site in Yunnan Province, offers a rare window into the paleoenvironment of the latest Miocene in southwestern China. Over 2400 vertebrat...

Although there are several studies investigating the relation of Assyrians with exotic and domestic animals, none have dealt with a thorough investigation regarding primates in this Near Eastern society. The present study fills this gap by examining the depictions of primates in Assyrian material culture. Our analysis shows that monkeys deriving fr...

The earliest Bronze Age Mediterranean primate representations on frescoes are found at the Aegean sites of Knossos (Crete) and Akrotiri (Thera). By contrast, monkeys have so far been missing from Mycenaean frescoes in mainland Greece. A fresco fragment of a cultic scene from Tiryns changes this; it depicts a bipedal partial lower body, with a hangi...

Spermophilus citellus is an endangered ground squirrel, which occurs in grassland and agricultural areas of Central and South-Eastern Europe, while Greece is the southernmost end of its range. More specifically, most species populations are found in Central Macedonia, some of which are located within the Natura 2000 sites of the protected area of T...

Bats form a diverse order of mammals with a crucial ecological role. Bat populations appear to be declining because of human-induced environmental stress. Genetic methods can contribute to detailed investigations of species diversity and assessments of population status. Here, we aimed to study the genetic diversity of bats across the Rhodope Mount...

The Balkan Peninsula acted as a refugium for many steppic species during the Pleistocene, resulting in a high genetic variability, which, in some cases, presents a northward decreasing latitudinal gradient. In the present study, we investigate the genetic diversity of the European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) in its Balkan distribution,...

The fossil colobine genus Mesopithecus is the oldest European monkey, ranging from the Late Miocene to the earliest Pleistocene. It is one of the most successful genera of Old World monkeys since the late Neogene. Its ecology, as an indicator of Late Miocene environments, is of particular interest. Several investigations have clarified the locomoto...

Urban forests impose significant challenges to the animals that inhabit them due to the altered properties of available substrates from anthropogenic interventions. To cope with these structural peculiarities, urban species exhibit behavioral adjustments to successfully exploit the urban habitat. The present study examined habitat use and positiona...

Depictions of and references to apes (tailless hominoids) are very limited in early historical written accounts. The first known published representations of ape-like primates appear in Medieval European books during the first century following the invention of printing. Considering the current knowledge of ape iconography, this article examines an...

Studies of positional (=locomotor and postural) behavior are central for understanding how animals interact with the challenges imposed by their environment and are crucial for conservation management. The present study investigates, for the first time, the positional behavior and substrate use of the endangered pygmy slow loris Xanthonycticebus py...

The colobine genus Mesopithecus represents one of the most geographically widespread and well-known nonhuman fossil primates, spanning a period from the early late Miocene until the early Pliocene. Currently, fossil finds range from western Europe, eastwards to the Balkans and further east to Iran and Pakistan. The recent description of a dentate m...

Large mammal species are considered as “umbrella” species for maintaining the function of ecosystems in forests and for protecting biodiversity. The Rhodope Mountain Range shows unique biodiversity in Greece, belonging to the Natura 2000 network and hosting important species. It is also home to every large species of the continental mammals of Gree...

We present historical information and more recent data collected over the last 32 years (1991-2022), to evaluate the lynx status and trends in Greece. This information, combined with some preliminary environmental analysis and mapping of food availability (roe deer) are further used to investigate and argue on how feasible would be to reintroduce t...

Parasitological studies in wild animals contribute to wildlife conservation and domestic animal and public health protection. Herein, we investigated the intensity of infection in the European Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus citellus), an endangered semifossorial rodent of central and southeastern Europe. Previous studies suggested that the most prev...

Bats form a diverse order of mammals with a crucial ecological role in ecosystem control. Bat populations appear to be declining because of human-induced environmental stress. For effective conservation programs, it is crucial to study the species’ diversity. Our study aimed to examine the genetic diversity of bats in the Rhodopi Mountain Range, ba...

Parasites are a potential threat to endangered large carnivore species. However, only a few studies are focused on parasite fauna of brown bears in Europe, its impact on the species’ conservation status and the possible implications on sympatric domestic animals and humans. The aim of this ongoing research is to record the gastrointestinal parasite...

Terrestrial small mammals form an important component of natural and urban environments, as they represent a significant part of the trophic chain and contribute to the regeneration of forests through seed dissemination. Moreover, their strong and flexible population dynamics in response to environmental changes render them suitable indices of the...

The Eurasian or European beaver Castor fiber is known to have occurred in Greece until the 19 th century. The last report on beaver existence in the country comes from Peloponnese, southern Greece, in the 19 th century, although the animals are believed to have disappeared much later from northern Greece. In 2021 the Department of Biology at the Ar...

Positional behaviors have been broadly quantified across the Order Primates, and in several other mammalian lineages, to contextualize adaptations to, and evolution within, an arboreal environment. Outside of Mammalia, however, such data are yet to be reported. In this study, we present the first quantitative report of positional behavior within Av...

Studies on positional behavior and canopy use are essential for understanding how arboreal animals adapt their morphological characteristics and behaviors to the challenges of their environment. The present study explores canopy and substrate use along with positional behavior in adult black snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus strykeri), an endemic,...

Este estudio explora la iconografía de los primates y su contexto en la civilización minoica a la luz de la paralela historia cultural de Egipto. Más específicamente, analizamos las representaciones de primates en objetos portables de diversas localidades de Creta, así como frescos de Akrotiri en Santorini y Knossos en Creta, ambas localidades de l...

Τhe functional morphology of the skull of the fossil badger Meles dimitrius from the Early Pleistocene of Greece is studied by means of comparative myological and osteological analyses with the extant representatives of the genus Meles from Europe and Asia. The myological analysis of the masticatory system allowed the reconstruction of a ‘muscle ma...

The study examines the taxonomy of the newly excavated Nyctereutes material from Dafnero-3 (Greece) and the unpublished specimens from Varshets (Bulgaria). One cranium and a hemimandible from Dafnero-3 site are ascribed to the species Nyctereutes megamastoides, already known from Dafnero-1 and other Early Pleistocene sites of Greece. Two additional...

Archaeoprimatology intertwines archaeology and primatology to understand the ancient liminal relationships between humans and nonhuman primates. During the last decade, novel studies have boosted this discipline. This edited volume is the first compendium of archaeoprimatological studies ever produced. Written by a culturally diverse group of schol...

The present chapter provides a detailed review of the available material evidence concerning the representation of primates and their context in the Minoan civilization. More specifically, we analyzed the depictions of primates in two frescos from Knossos, Crete, and four frescos from Akrotiri, Thera/Santorini. Furthermore, we studied primate repre...

The locomotor behaviors of treeshrews are often reported as scurrying "squirrel-like" movements. As such, treeshrews have received little attention beyond passing remarks in regard to primate locomotor evolution. However, scandentians vary considerably in habitat and substrate use, thus categorizing all treeshrew locomotion based on data collected...

Climate change can be expected to alter ecosystems and influence the spatial distribution of species. Understanding the effects of climate change on species distribution can help develop effective conservation protocols to tackle further biodiversity loss. Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) global populations appear to follow an overall decreasing trend...

There has been little research on the distribution and ecology of the four dormouse species occurring in Greece; the Edible Dormouse ( Glis glis ), Forest Dormouse ( Dryomys nitedula ), Hazel dormouse ( Muscardinus avellanarius ) and Mouse-tailed Dormouse ( Myomimus roachi ). As a result, the latter three species are listed as data deficient (DD) i...

Hybridisation between domestic and wild taxa can pose severe threats to wildlife conservation, and human induced hybridisation, often linked to species' introductions and habitat degradation, may promote reproductive opportunities between species for which natural interbreeding would be highly unlikely. Using a biome specific approach, we examine t...

The European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) is an endangered semifossorial small mammal of grassland/agricultural ecosystems. In the last few decades, the species' population has declined throughout its range in Europe. The Greek populations represent the southernmost limit of the species' range and are notably small, scattered, and locate...

Long-term studies on sexual segregation in Ateles belzebuth are rare, although it has been proposed that sexual variations on resource use by spider monkeys might be due to differences in energy requirements between sexes. To evaluate the responses of male spider monkeys to fruit production, we collected data from 139 subgroups, over a period of 11...

Recently, an article was published in the journal Primates, in which an interdisciplinary team consisting of primatologists, a taxonomic illustrator, and an art historian/archaeologist suggested a new identification of the monkeys depicted in a wall painting from Room 6 of Building Complex Beta in the Bronze Age town of Akrotiri on the Cycladic isl...

The European Wildcat (Felis sylvestris) has a wide distribution in continental Greece and in most mountain regions of Crete. Until today no data on the distribution of the species have been confirmed. Older unconfirmed sources report the species in Peloponnese, Euboea. However, the only island with a known viable population is Crete. In Greece, t...

Th e Alpine musk deer is one of the least studied species that is distributed throughout an alpine ecosystem. Th e population of musk deer is declining because of anthropogenic pressure. Our study was conducted to understand the relationship between musk deer and their environments in the Khaptad National Park in western Nepal. We used a line trans...

The Balkan populations of the European wildcat are among the least studied. This study reports the first findings on the spatial ecology and activity pattern of the wildcat in Greece and compares them to those of better studied northern populations. We fitted five wildcats (two males, three females) with collars containing GPS and accelerometer log...

A recent debate on the taxonomic identiication of the monkeys depicted in a fresco from Room 6 of Building Complex Beta in the Bronze Age town of Akrotiri, Thera (Greece) has triggered a multitude of diferent interpretations deriving from a fruitful exchange of diverse academic approaches. Thus, Pareja et al. (Pareja et al., Primates 61:159–168, 20...

Results In 103 (55.83%) of the 186 samples examined, parasitic elements (eggs, larvae and oocysts) of 10 different genera, were found (Table 1). Mixed infections by two or more parasite species were detected in 32 (31.06%) samples. In 24 (32.43%) and 3 (9.09%) of the samples more than 50 EPG of Baylisascaris spp. and Uncinaria spp. were found, resp...

The European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) is an endangered species, endemic to Central and Southeastern Europe, inhabiting burrow colonies in grassland and agricultural ecosystems. In recent years, agricultural land-use changes and increased urbanization have largely contributed to a severe population decline across its range, particular...

Grazing has long been recognized as an effective means of modifying natural habitats and, by extension, as a wildlife and protected area management tool, in addition to the obvious economic value it has for pastoral communities. A holistic approach to grazing management requires the estimation of grazing timing, frequency, and season length, as wel...

Inquiring into the paleoecology of extinct forms is always a challenge, particularly when the taxa under study correspond to derived ecomorphs of ancient and completely extinct clades. In this contribution, the configuration of the masticatory apparatus and associated features of the Neogene pachyrukhines Paedotherium and Tremacyllus are studied in...

The caudal cranium and occipito-cervical region, although usually overlooked, are informative about the paleobiology of fossil mammals, allowing inquiry into vision and hearing abilities, as well as head and neck postures. Particularly for Pachyrukhinae, some related features remain unexplored. In this contribution, 22 specimens of Paedotherium and...

The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) is the only wild felid living in Greece. Wildcat populations are declining due to anthropogenic and phenological unfavourable conditions, and parasites may have an additional negative impact. In the present study, the occurrence of endoparasites in wildcats in Greece and the potential threats posed to wildcat...

Studies of positional behavior, gait, and habitat use are important for understanding how animals adapt to the challenges of their environment. In turn, this information is useful for advancing research on primate morphology, life history, and ecology. Data on eco-mechanical variables can be used to develop concrete conservation and management plan...

In the Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean region there is a lack of proper taxonomic identification when referring to material culture depicting primates. A group of five primatomorphic statuettes from Susa of the Proto-Elamite and Elamite periods deserves a closer examination. Two monkey species were identified: olive baboon (Papio anubis) an...

In the article, Youlatos et al. (2021).

Arboreal mammals have evolved a range of biomechanical adaptations that allow them to navigate trees effectively. One such feature that has received considerable attention is the importance of vision that helps arboreal animals assess gap distances, assure proper foot placement, and inspect potential risks. While there is considerable debate about...

Rock piles, boulder stacks, and vertical cliffs with ledges represent terrestrial habitats with a complex and irregular network of variably positioned available substrates demanding special morphological and behavioral adaptations. In this context, the current study integrated forelimb functional morphometrics with data on the positional behavior o...

The squirrels are among the least studied small mammals in Nepal. The present study aims to provide baseline information such as number of individuals, habitat and nest use in different time periods for hoary-bellied squirrels in central Nepal. During September-October 2018, we used 24 line transects to record squirrel sightings, nesting sites and...

The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is one of the largest carnivores within forest and grassland ecosystems across Africa and Asia and is currently threatened throughout its range. In this short report, we studied hyena presence between 1995 and 2018 in Nepal, via literature and field questionnaire surveys. Our results indicate that hyena distributio...

Recently, Pareja et al. (Primates, 61:159–168, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00778-12020) published a report suggesting that the monkeys represented by Minoans in Room 6 of Building Complex Beta at Akrotiri, Thera (present-day Greece) allegedly represented Hanuman or gray langurs (Semnopithecus spp.). This conjecture was based only on the post...

Apart from a juvenile hominoid, the locality of Shuitangba (southwestern China, 6.5–6.0 Ma) has yielded a mandible and proximal femur attributed to the colobine genus Mesopithecus. A complete colobine calcaneus also accompanies this material, but its association with the other Mesopithecus material remains to be confirmed. These fossil elements are...

Sleep is the longest and most continuous behavioral phase in the 24 h cycle of mammals. However, selection of postures, substrates, and tree parts during sleep has not been adequately explored, as well as their evolutionary consequences. The present study investigates postural behavior, substrate, and tree part use during sleep in three howler spec...

The Vietnamese pygmy dormouse is a small, arboreal, nocturnal, blind rodent that uses incipient echolocation to navigate in tree canopies. In order to assess its arboreal faculties in relation to echolocative capacity, the present study investigated the locomotor and postural behavior of the species in a simulated arboreal environment within an enc...

The original article can be found online.

There is no literature referring to the ancient iconographic depiction of apes in the eastern circum-Mediterranean region and the Near East. Written reports such as the Old Testament mention apes, but this may be a reference to monkeys, while Hanno the Carthaginian Navigator referred to chimpanzees in the 5th-6th c. BC. Here we describe two marble...

A new look at the Minoan ‘blue’ monkeys—ADDENDUM - Volume 94 Issue 376 - Bernardo Urbani, Dionisios Youlatos

The manual and pedal grasping abilities of primates, characterized by an opposable hallux, flat nails, and elongated digits, constitute a unique combination of features that likely promoted their characteristic use of arboreal habitats. These hand and foot specificities are central for understanding the origins and early evolution of primates and h...

A review of Minoan frescoes and artefacts suggests interactions with two primate groups in sacred and leisure contexts, respectively. This demonstrates the early exchange of iconography and knowledge of monkeys between the Aegean and North Africa.

Hybridisation between wild taxa and their domestic congeners is a significant conservation issue. Domestic species frequently outnumber their wild relatives in population size and distribution and may therefore genetically swamp the native species. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) has been shown to hybridise with domestic cats (Felis catus)....

Understanding the feeding habits of wolves is essential for designing and implementing fundamental management processes across the range of the species. This is even more important within human-dominated areas, such as southern Europe, and more especially Greece. In this context, we analyzed 123 scat samples, collected between 2010 and 2012, from a...