Propliopithecoidea
| Propliopithecoidea Temporal range:
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| Superfamily: | Propliopithecoidea
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Propliopithecoidea is an extinct family of catarrhine primates that inhabited Africa and Arabia during the Early Oligocene about 32 to 29 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Egypt, Oman and Angola. They are the earliest known family of catarrhines.[1]
They have a number of features in common with extant catarrhines, but also a number of features that are primitive and not found in later catarrhine families.[1]
There are five species, which are close enough that they can be viewed as a single Genus. They have a body mass of 4-6 kg (6-8 kg for zeuxis), similar in size to modern Howler monkeys. [1]
Species
Propliopithecus ankelae
Propliopithecus chirobates
Propliopithecus haeckeli
Propliopithecus markgrafi aka Moeripithecus markgrafi
Propliopithecus zeuxis aka Aegyptopithecus zeuxis
Classification controversy
Szalay & Delson (1979), Andrews (1985), Harrison (1987) and Begun (2012) argue that the high degree of similarity means they should be placed in a single genus. However Seifert (2010) argues for three genera - Aegyptopithecus, Moeripithecus and Propliopithecus[1], and Herbert Thomas (1991), following examination of new material in Oman, argues for Moeripithecus markgrafi, citing 'striking differences in morphology' compared to Propliopithecus haeckeli.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Begun, David (2012). A Companion To Paleoanthropology. Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-118-33237-5.
- ^ Thomas, Herbert (1991). "The discovery ofMoeripithecus markgrafi Schlosser (Propliopithecidae, Anthropoidea, Primates), in the Ashawq Formation (Early Oligocene of Dhofar Province, Sultanate of Oman)". Journal of Human Evolution January 1991.
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