- Dendropithecus
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Dendropithecus
Temporal range: Early to Middle Miocene
Dendropithecus macinnesi jaw Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Suborder: Haplorrhini Infraorder: Simiiformes Parvorder: Catarrhini Superfamily: Hominoidea Family: Pliopithecidae Genus: Dendropithecus
P Andrews, 1977[1]Dendropithecus is an extinct genus of apes native to East Africa between 20 and 15 million years ago. It may have been the ancestor of modern gibbons, which it resembled in some respects.[2]
Dendropithecus was a slender ape, about 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) in body length. The structure of its arms suggest that it would have been able to brachiate, swinging between trees by its arms, but that it would not have been as efficient at this form of movement as modern gibbons. However, its teeth suggest a very gibbon-like diet, likely consisting of fruit, soft leaves, and flowers.[2]
References
- ^ Andrews, P; Simons, E (1977). "A new Arican miocene gibbon-like genus, Dendropithecus (hominoidea, primates) with distinctive postcranial adaptations: Its significance to origin of hylobatidae". Folia primatologica; international journal of primatology 28 (3): 161–9. PMID 914128.
- ^ a b Palmer, D., ed (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 291. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
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