Pliopithecidae

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Pliopithecidae
Temporal range: Early Miocene–Pliocene
Dendropithecus macinnesi.JPG
Dendropithecus macinnesi fossil
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Parvorder: Catarrhini
Superfamily: Pliopithecoidea
Family: Pliopithecidae
Subfamilies

Crouzeliinae
Pliopithecinae
Dionysopithecinae

The family Pliopithecidae is an extinct family of fossil catarrhines and members of the Pliopithecoidea superfamily.

Their anatomy combined primitive features such as a small braincase, a long snout, and a tail. At the same time, they possessed more advanced features such as stereoscopic vision and ape-like teeth and jaws, clearly distinguishing them from monkeys. [1]

Begun and Harrison divide the Pliopithecidae into subfamilies Pliopithecinae and Crouzeliinae. [2] Dionysopithecinae are sometimes placed here as a subfamily, [3] but Begun & Harrison place them in their own family, the Dionysopithecidae. [2]

Palaeoecology

Pliopithecids had a clear habitat preference for warm and humid habitats. [4]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catarrhini</span> Group of Old World monkeys and apes

The parvorder Catarrhini consists of the Cercopithecoidea and apes (Hominoidea). In 1812, Geoffroy grouped those two groups together and established the name Catarrhini, "Old World monkeys",. Its sister in the infraorder Simiiformes is the parvorder Platyrrhini. There has been some resistance to directly designate apes as monkeys despite the scientific evidence, so "Old World monkey" may be taken to mean the Cercopithecoidea or the Catarrhini. That apes are monkeys was already realized by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in the 18th century. Linnaeus placed this group in 1758 together with what we now recognise as the tarsiers and the New World monkeys, in a single genus "Simia". The Catarrhini are all native to Africa and Asia. Members of this parvorder are called catarrhines.

<i>Pliopithecus</i> Extinct genus of primates

Pliopithecus is a genus of extinct primates of the Miocene. It was discovered in 1837 by Édouard Lartet (1801–1871) in France, with fossils subsequently discovered in Switzerland, Slovakia and Spain.

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<i>Mesopithecus</i> Extinct genus of monkeys

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<i>Dendropithecus</i> Extinct genus of primates

Dendropithecus is an extinct genus of apes native to East Africa between 20 and 15 million years ago. Dendropithecus was originally suggested to be related to modern gibbons, based primarily on similarities in size, dentition, and skeletal adaptations. However, further studies have shown that Dendropithecus lacks derived hominoid traits. Instead, the traits shared between this taxon and modern primates are primitive for all catarrhines. Dendropithecus is now considered to be a stem catarrhine, too primitive to be closely related to any modern primates.

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Rangwapithecus is an extinct genus of ape from the Early Miocene of Kenya. Late Miocene phalanges from Hungary have also been assigned to this genus, but were later reclassified as Dryopithecus.

<i>Anapithecus</i> Extinct genus of primates

Anapithecus is a late Miocene primate known from fossil locations in Hungary and Austria. Many Anapithecus fossils come from the site of Rudabánya, in northern Hungary, where Anapithecus lived alongside the ape Rudapithecus. The only species in the genus, Anapithecus hernyaki, is named after Gabor Hernyák, chief geologist of the Iron Ore Works of Rudabánya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pliopithecoidea</span> Extinct superfamily of primates

Pliopithecoidea is an extinct superfamily of catarrhine primates that inhabited Asia and Europe during the Miocene. Although they were once a widespread and diverse group of primates, the pliopithecoids have no living descendants.

Crouzeliinae is an extinct subfamily of Pliopithecidae primates that inhabited Europe and China during the Miocene, approximately 8–14.5 million years ago - they appear to have originated in Asia and extended their range into Europe between 17 and 13 million years ago. Crouzeliines can be distinguished from the other Pliopithecoidea subfamilies on the basis of uniquely derived dental traits.

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Propliopithecoidea is a superfamily of catarrhine primates that inhabited Africa and the Arabian Peninsula during the Early Oligocene about 32 to 29 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Egypt, Oman and Angola. They are one of the earliest known families of catarrhines. They have a number of features in common with extant catarrhines, but also features that are primitive and not found in later catarrhine families.

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Nyanzapithecus is an extinct genus of primate from the Middle Miocene of Maboko Island, Nyanza Province, Kenya. This genus is known from four species. It had an average body mass of around 10 kg (22 lb).

References

  1. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. pp. 290–291. ISBN   1-84028-152-9.
  2. 1 2 Harrison, Terry (2012). "Chapter 20 Catarrhine Origins". In Begun, David (ed.). A Companion To Paleoanthropology. Wiley Blackwell. ISBN   978-1-118-33237-5. Alt URL
  3. Harrison, T; Gu, Y (1999). "Taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of early Miocene catarrhines from Sihong, China". Journal of Human Evolution. 37 (2): 225. Bibcode:1999JHumE..37..225H. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0310 .
  4. Kaakinen, Anu; Abdul Aziz, Hayfaa; Passey, Benjamin H.; Zhang, Zhaoqun; Liu, Liping; Salminen, Johanna; Wang, Lihua; Krijgsman, Wout; Fortelius, Mikael (15 March 2015). "Age and stratigraphic context of Pliopithecus and associated fauna from Miocene sedimentary strata at Damiao, Inner Mongolia, China". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences . 100: 78–90. doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2014.12.014 . Retrieved 10 January 2025 via Elsevier Science Direct.