Pliopithecus

<i>Pliopithecus</i>

Pliopithecus

Extinct genus of primates

Pliopithecus (meaning "more ape") 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.

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Paleospecies ...
Pliopithecus antiquus jaw seen from above

Pliopithecus had a similar size and form to modern gibbons, to which it may be related, although it is probably not a direct ancestor. It had long limbs, hands, and feet, and may have been able to brachiate, swinging between trees using its arms. Unlike gibbons, it had a short tail, and only partial stereoscopic vision.[1]

They appear to have originated in Asia and extended their range into Europe between 20 and 17 million years ago.[2]

Begun and Harrison list the following species within the genus:[2]

  • Pliopithecus antiquus
  • Pliopithecus bii
  • Pliopithecus canmatensis
  • Pliopithecus platyodon
  • Pliopithecus vindobonensis
  • Pliopithecus zhanxiangi

Pliopithecus antiquus has been referred to previously as P. piveteaui.[3] P. vindobonensis is sometimes considered to be a separate genus, Epipliopithecus.[4][2] Anapithecus is a close relative and was initially considered a subgenus of Pliopithecus.

References

  1. [1]
    Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 291. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  2. [2]
    Harrison, Terry (2018). "Catarrhine Origins". In Trevathan, Wenda (ed.). The International Encyclopedia of Biological Anthropology. Vol. 1. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 306–311. doi:10.1002/9781118584538.ieba0087. ISBN 978-1-118-58442-2.
  3. [3]
    "Pliopithecus antiquus Blainville 1839". Synonym: Pliopithecus piveteaui Hürzeler 1954
  4. [4]
    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.


Stub icon

This prehistoric primate-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Pliopithecus, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.