Nacholapithecus

Nacholapithecus Temporal range: middle Miocene
Nacholapithecus kerioi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Superfamily:	Hominoidea
Family:	Hominidae
Subfamily:	†Kenyapithecinae
Genus:	†Nacholapithecus
Species:	N. wickeri

Nacholapithecus is a Middle Miocene genus of hominoid found in the Nachola formation in northern Kenya, a key genus in early hominid evolution. Similar in body plan to Proconsul, it had a long vertebral column with six lumbar vertebrae, no tail, a narrow torso, large upper limbs with mobile shoulder joints, and long feet.

Together with other Kenyapithecinae such as Equatorius, Kenyapithecus, and Griphopithecus, Nacholapithecus displayed synapomorphies with Anoiapithecus.

Taxonomy

Nacholapithecus was initially classified as belonging in Kenyapithecus (Ishida et al 1984), then attributed (Ward et al. 1999) to Equatorius (with Equatorius perhaps grouped into a sub-family Equatorinae, instead of both species in Afropithecini (Cameron 2004) ), finally recognised as a separate genus (Ishida et al 1999). Classified perhaps as a member of the family Proconsulidae (I. S. Zalmout et al. 2010).

Nacholapithecus kerioi

Nacholapithecus kerioi is a hominoid known from the Aka Aiteputh Formation, in Nachola, Northern Kenya.

Formation

The formation is largely part of the north-western rift flank overlying the Nachola Formation, part of the Neogene system (Samburu).

References

Cameron, David W. (2004). Hominid Adaptations and Extinctions. UNSW Press. ISBN 9780868407166. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Henke, Winfried; Hardt, Thorolf (29 May 2007). Handbook of paleoanthropology. Springer. ISBN 3-540-32474-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Ishida, H; Kunimatsu, Y; Takano, T; Nakano, Y; Nakatsukasa, M (January 2004). "Nacholapithecus skeleton from the Middle Miocene of Kenya". J Hum Evol. 46 (1): 69–103. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2003.10.001. PMID 14698685. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Ishida, Hidemi; Tuttle, Russell; Pickford, Martin; Ogihara, Naomichi; Nakatsukasa, Masato, eds. (2006). Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer. ISBN 9780387296388. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Alba, David M; Almécija, Sergio; Casanovas-Vilar, Isaac; Köhler, Meike; de Esteban-Trivigno, Soledad; Robles, Josep M; Galindo, Jordi; Fortuny, Josep (2009). "A unique Middle Miocene European hominoid and the origins of the great ape and human clade". PNAS. 106 (24): 9601–06. doi:10.1073/pnas.0811730106. PMC 2701031. PMID 19487676. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Nakatsukasa, Masato; Kunimatsu, Yutaka (May–June 2009). "Nacholapithecus and its importance for understanding hominoid evolution". Evolutionary Anthropology. 18 (3): 103–119. doi:10.1002/evan.20208. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

"Nacolapithecus". Paleobiology Database. 2012. Retrieved September 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

Russon, Anne E.; Begun, David R., eds. (2004). The Evolution of Thought: Evolutionary Origins of Great Ape Intelligence. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521783354. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Sawada, Yoshihiro; Saneyoshi, Mototaka; Nakayama, Katsuhiro; Sakai, Tetsuya; Itaya, Tetsumaru; Hyodo, Masayuki; Mukokya, Yogolelo; Pickford, Martin; Senut, Brigitte; Tanaka, Satoshi (2006). "The Ages and Geological Backgrounds of Miocene Hominoids Nacholapithecus, Samburupithecus, and Orrorin from Kenya". Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer. pp. 71–96. doi:10.1007/0-387-29798-7_6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)