Gorgopithecus
| Gorgopithecus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Subfamily: | Cercopithecinae |
| Tribe: | Papionini |
| Genus: | †Gorgopithecus Broom & Robinson, 1948 |
Gorgopithecus is an extinct genus of primate, in the old word monkey family Cercopithecidae, closely related to the baboons.[1][2] It has been found at early Pleistocene sites in South Africa and Tanzania.[3]
The only known species, G. major, was somewhat larger in body size than the largest extant baboons, with males estimated to have weighed approximately 37 Kg on average, based on dental size.[4] It is characterized by a skull with deep maxillary post-canine fossae and short nasal bones.[5]
Its diet was probably similar in many ways to that of living baboons and macaques. The functional morphology of the molar teeth suggest its diet was mostly fruits and other easily digested plant part.[6] Microwear analysis of Kromdraai material was consistent with folivory, but samples were too small for statistical analysis.[7]
References
- ^ R. Broom & J. T. Robinson (1948). "A new type of fossil baboon, Gorgopithecus major". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 119 (2): 379–386. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1949.tb00887.x.
- ^ "Fossilworks: Gorgopithecus". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
- ^ Gilbert, Christopher C.; Frost, Stephen R.; Delson, Eric (2016). "Reassessment of Olduvai Bed I cercopithecoids: A new biochronological and biogeographical link to the South African fossil record". Journal of Human Evolution. 92: 50–59. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.12.003.
- ^ Delson, Eric; Terranova, Carl J.; Jungers, William L.; Sargis, Eric J.; Jablonski, Nina G.; Dechow, Paul C. (2000). "Body mass in Cercopithecidae (Primates, Mammalia): estimation and scaling in extinct and extant taxa". Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History. 83: 1–159.
- ^ Freedman, Leonard (1957). "The fossil Cercopithecoidea of South Africa". Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 23: 121–257.
- ^ Benefit, Brenda R. (1999). "Victoriapithecus: The key to Old World monkey and catarrhine origins". Evolutionary Anthropology. 7: 155–174.
- ^ El-Zaatari, Sireen; Grine, Frederick E.; Teaford, Mark F.; Smith, Heather F. (2005). "Molar microwear and dietary reconstructions of fossil cercopithecoidea from the Plio-Pleistocene deposits of South Africa". Journal of Human Evolution. 49 (2): 180–205. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.03.005.
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