Anapithecus
Anapithecus Temporal range: Miocene
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Family: | †Pliopithecidae |
Subfamily: | †Crouzeliinae |
Genus: | †Anapithecus Kretzoi , 1975
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Species | |
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Anapithecus (pronounced Ana-PITH-i-kuhs; from Greek πίθηκος pithekos "ape") is a late Miocene primate (10 million years old) known from fossil locations in Hungary and Austria.[1] Many Anapithecus fossils come from the site of Rudabánya, in northern Hungary, where Anapithecus lived alongside the ape Rudapithecus.[2][3] The only species in the genus, Anapithecus hernyaki, is named after Gabor Hernyák, chief geologist of the Iron Ore Works of Rudabánya.[4]
Classification and phylogeny
Anapithecus belongs to the clade
Physical characteristics
Anapithecus weighed approximately 15 kg, about the same size as large adult gibbon.[3] Similar to other pliopithecoids Anapithecus had a relatively short face, broad orbits with projecting rims, low cheekbones, and a globular skull.[1] Although similar in size to a gibbon, the jaw bone of Anapithecus is much deeper and more robust. Anapithecus is defined by a series of unique dental characteristics. Most notable among these is the distinctive system of crests found on the first lower molar. The crests form a Y shape between the cusps of the teeth (although this is not to be confused with Y-5 pattern found on the lower molars of apes).[1] Less is known about postcranial morphology of Anapithecus, as the majority of fossils consist of teeth. Still, analyses have determined that Anapithecus was most likely a suspensory arboreal primate, which swung below from tree branch to tree branch, akin to an ape. This stands in contrast to the smaller pliopithecoids which were thought to walk atop the branches of trees, more similar to monkey.[7]
Paleoecology and life history
The site of
Analysis of the enamel micro-structure of Anapithecus shows that its dental development was similar in rate to that of Old World monkeys (particularly macaques). The first lower molar erupts at 1.45 months, then the second and third molars erupt at 2.2 and 3.2 years. This eruption time is faster than any living catarrhine primate of similar size.[9]
References
- ^ Bibcode:2002prfr.book.....H. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2011-09-25. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
- PMID 11139358.
- ^ PMID 24034983.
- S2CID 4282657.
- ^ a b Harrison, Terry (2013). Begun, David (ed.). A Companion to Paleoanthropology. Hoboken, New Jersey: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- ^ Ginsburg, Léonard; Mein, Pierre (1980). "Crouzelia rhodanica, nouvelle espèce de Primate catarhinien, et essai sur la position systématique des Pliopithecidae". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. 4e série: 57–85.
- .
- S2CID 83713630.
- PMID 15935440.