The Papionini tribe primates have the greatest geographical range of extant non-human primates across Africa and Asia, and show a broad ecological adaptability and evolutionary success. The species of the Papionini tribe show great morphological diversity according to its wide range of ecological exploitation. Extant and extinct Papionini have been the focus of several studies, as their evolutionary history, the great morphological diversity of the group and genetic analyses suggest that processes of ecological convergence and divergence could have affected the group. The radiation of the Papionini is correlated with the general trend of climatic change during the Plio-Pleistocene, with the spreading of grasslands and open habitats. In this scenario they coexisted with the Hominini therefore, both lineages confronted the same climatic constraints and had analogous evolutionary trends. Understanding the divergence and evolution of the Papionini species could give us some clues about the adaptations of extant primates and the niche partitioning with the hominins.

We aim for this Research Topic to understand the evolution and radiation of the Papionini primates to interpret the adaptations of the extant members of the tribe. The goal of this collection is to present results from different perspectives to integrate the information. For this reason contributions studying morphology, genetics, ecology of extant but also with an evolutionary perspective would be useful to interpret the adaptations of the Papionini.

The scope of this article collection covers studies of any Papionini taxa and chronological period. Specific research themes include (but they are not limited to):

- Tooth and skull morphology,
- Different dietary proxies (tooth microtexture, dental macrowear, low magnification, isotopes,...),
- Genetic analyses and evidences
- Comparative anatomy
- Biomechanical analyses
- Behavioural field studies

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Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

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