Misplaced Pages

#289710

52-434: Dryopithecus is a genus of extinct great apes from the middle – late Miocene boundary of Europe 12.5 to 11.1 million years ago (mya). Since its discovery in 1856, the genus has been subject to taxonomic turmoil, with numerous new species being described from single remains based on minute differences amongst each other, and the fragmentary nature of the holotype specimen makes differentiating remains difficult. There

104-451: A degree of suspensory behaviour to reach them, though the anatomy of a humerus and femur suggest a greater reliance on walking on all fours ( quadrupedalism ). The face was similar to gorillas , and males had longer canines than females, which is typically correlated with high levels of aggression . They lived in a seasonal, paratropical climate, and may have built up fat reserves for winter. European great apes likely went extinct during

156-540: A drying and cooling trend in the Late Miocene which caused the retreat of warm-climate forests. The genus name Dryopithecus comes from Ancient Greek drus 'oak tree' and pithekos ' ape ' because the authority believed it inhabited an oak or pine forest in an environment similar to modern day Europe. The species D. fontani was named in honour of its discoverer, local collector Monsieur Alfred Fontan. The first Dryopithecus fossils were described from

208-400: A large gut to aid in the processing of less-digestible food, perhaps stretching to include foods such as leaves ( folivory ) in times of famine like in modern apes. Unlike modern apes, Dryopithecus likely had a high carbohydrate , low fibre diet. A high- fructose diet is associated with elevated levels of uric acid , which is neutralized by uricase in most animals except great apes. It

260-651: A later homonym of a validly published name is a nomen illegitimum or nom. illeg. ; for a full list refer to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants and the work cited above by Hawksworth, 2010. In place of the "valid taxon" in zoology, the nearest equivalent in botany is " correct name " or "current name" which can, again, differ or change with alternative taxonomic treatments or new information that results in previously accepted genera being combined or split. Prokaryote and virus codes of nomenclature also exist which serve as

312-628: A long time and redescribed as new by a range of subsequent workers, or if a range of genera previously considered separate taxa have subsequently been consolidated into one. For example, the World Register of Marine Species presently lists 8 genus-level synonyms for the sperm whale genus Physeter Linnaeus, 1758, and 13 for the bivalve genus Pecten O.F. Müller, 1776. Within the same kingdom, one generic name can apply to one genus only. However, many names have been assigned (usually unintentionally) to two or more different genera. For example,

364-409: A reference for designating currently accepted genus names as opposed to others which may be either reduced to synonymy, or, in the case of prokaryotes, relegated to a status of "names without standing in prokaryotic nomenclature". An available (zoological) or validly published (botanical) name that has been historically applied to a genus but is not regarded as the accepted (current/valid) name for

416-427: A taxon; however, the names published in suppressed works are made unavailable via the relevant Opinion dealing with the work in question. In botany, similar concepts exist but with different labels. The botanical equivalent of zoology's "available name" is a validly published name . An invalidly published name is a nomen invalidum or nom. inval. ; a rejected name is a nomen rejiciendum or nom. rej. ;

468-412: A thin enamel layer. Dryopithecus has a slender jaw, indicating it was not well-suited for eating abrasive or hard food. Like modern apes, the males have pronounced canine teeth. The molars are wide, and the premolars wider. It has a wide roof of the mouth , a long muzzle ( prognathism ), and a large nose which is oriented nearly vertically to the face. In total, the face shows many similarities to

520-455: A total of c. 520,000 published names (including synonyms) as at end 2019, increasing at some 2,500 published generic names per year. "Official" registers of taxon names at all ranks, including genera, exist for a few groups only such as viruses and prokaryotes, while for others there are compendia with no "official" standing such as Index Fungorum for fungi, Index Nominum Algarum and AlgaeBase for algae, Index Nominum Genericorum and

572-404: Is currently only one uncontested species, the type species D. fontani , though there may be more. The genus is placed into the tribe Dryopithecini , which is either an offshoot of orangutans , African apes , or is its own separate branch. A male specimen was estimated to have weighed 44 kg (97 lb) in life. Dryopithecus likely predominantly ate ripe fruit from trees, suggesting

SECTION 10

#1732764799290

624-612: Is discouraged by both the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants , there are some five thousand such names in use in more than one kingdom. For instance, A list of generic homonyms (with their authorities), including both available (validly published) and selected unavailable names, has been compiled by the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). The type genus forms

676-488: Is either regarded as an offshoot of orangutans ( Ponginae ), an ancestor to African apes and humans ( Homininae ), or its own separate branch ( Dryopithecinae ). Dryopithecus was a part of an adaptive radiation of great apes in the expanding forests of Europe in the warm climates of the Miocene Climatic Optimum, possibly descending from early or middle Miocene African apes which diversified in

728-423: Is only one uncontested species, D. fontani . Specimens are: Dryopithecus is classified into the namesake great ape tribe Dryopithecini , along with Hispanopithecus , Rudapithecus , Ouranopithecus , Anoiapithecus , and Pierolapithecus , though the latter two may belong to Dryopithecus , the former two may be synonymous, and the former three can also be placed into their own tribes. Dryopithecini

780-460: Is somewhat arbitrary. Although all species within a genus are supposed to be "similar", there are no objective criteria for grouping species into genera. There is much debate among zoologists about whether enormous, species-rich genera should be maintained, as it is extremely difficult to come up with identification keys or even character sets that distinguish all species. Hence, many taxonomists argue in favor of breaking down large genera. For instance,

832-474: Is the type species , and the generic name is permanently associated with the type specimen of its type species. Should the specimen turn out to be assignable to another genus, the generic name linked to it becomes a junior synonym and the remaining taxa in the former genus need to be reassessed. In zoological usage, taxonomic names, including those of genera, are classified as "available" or "unavailable". Available names are those published in accordance with

884-422: Is thought they stopped producing it by 15 mya, resulting in increased blood pressure , which in turn led to increased activity, and a greater ability to build up fat reserves. The palaeoenvironment of late Miocene Austria indicates an abundance of fruiting trees and honey for nine or ten months out of the year, and Dryopithecus may have relied on these fat reserves during the late winter. High uric acid levels in

936-621: The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ; the earliest such name for any taxon (for example, a genus) should then be selected as the " valid " (i.e., current or accepted) name for the taxon in question. Consequently, there will be more available names than valid names at any point in time; which names are currently in use depending on the judgement of taxonomists in either combining taxa described under multiple names, or splitting taxa which may bring available names previously treated as synonyms back into use. "Unavailable" names in zoology comprise names that either were not published according to

988-824: The International Plant Names Index for plants in general, and ferns through angiosperms, respectively, and Nomenclator Zoologicus and the Index to Organism Names for zoological names. Totals for both "all names" and estimates for "accepted names" as held in the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) are broken down further in the publication by Rees et al., 2020 cited above. The accepted names estimates are as follows, broken down by kingdom: The cited ranges of uncertainty arise because IRMNG lists "uncertain" names (not researched therein) in addition to known "accepted" names;

1040-473: The gorilla ; since early to middle Miocene African apes do not share such similarities, gorilla-like features likely evolved independently in Dryopithecus rather than as a result of close affinities . The humerus, measuring an approximate 265 mm (10.4 in), is similar in size and form to the bonobo . Like in bonobos, the shaft bows outward, and the insertion for the triceps and deltoids

1092-473: The hip joint, and indicate a quadrupedal mode of locomotion rather than suspensory. However, fruit trees in the time and area of the Austrian Dryopithecus were typically 5 to 12 m (16 to 39 ft) high and bore fruit on thinner terminal branches, suggesting suspensory behaviour to reach them. Dryopithecus likely predominantly ate fruit ( frugivory ), and evidence of cavities on

SECTION 20

#1732764799290

1144-419: The nomenclature codes , which allow each species a single unique name that, for animals (including protists ), plants (also including algae and fungi ) and prokaryotes ( bacteria and archaea ), is Latin and binomial in form; this contrasts with common or vernacular names , which are non-standardized, can be non-unique, and typically also vary by country and language of usage. Except for viruses ,

1196-404: The platypus belongs to the genus Ornithorhynchus although George Shaw named it Platypus in 1799 (these two names are thus synonyms ) . However, the name Platypus had already been given to a group of ambrosia beetles by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst in 1793. A name that means two different things is a homonym . Since beetles and platypuses are both members of the kingdom Animalia,

1248-449: The 21st century, the genus included D. fontani , D. brancoi , D. laietanus , and D. crusafonti . However, the 2009 discovery of a partial skull of D. fontani caused many of them to be split off into different genera, such as the newly erected Hispanopithecus , because part of the confusion was caused by the fragmentary nature of the Dryopithecus holotype with vague and incomplete diagnostic characteristics. Currently, there

1300-672: The African continent than elsewhere. But it is useless to speculate on this subject; for two or three anthropomorphous apes, one the Dryopithecus of Lartet, nearly as large as a man, and closely allied to Hylobates , existed in Europe during the Miocene age; and since so remote a period the earth has certainly undergone many great revolutions, and there has been ample time for migration on the largest scale. Dryopithecus taxonomy has been

1352-525: The French Pyrenees by French paleontologist Édouard Lartet in 1856, three years before Charles Darwin published his On the Origin of Species . Subsequent authors noted similarities to modern African great apes . In his The Descent of Man , Darwin briefly noted that Dryopithecus casts doubt on the African origin of apes: ...it is somewhat more probable that our early progenitors lived on

1404-442: The base for higher taxonomic ranks, such as the family name Canidae ("Canids") based on Canis . However, this does not typically ascend more than one or two levels: the order to which dogs and wolves belong is Carnivora ("Carnivores"). The numbers of either accepted, or all published genus names is not known precisely; Rees et al., 2020 estimate that approximately 310,000 accepted names (valid taxa) may exist, out of

1456-590: The blood are also associated with increased intelligence. Dryopithecus males had larger canines than females, which is associated with high levels of aggression in modern primates. The remains of Dryopithecus are often associated with several large mammals, such as proboscideans (e. g., though not limited to, Gomphotherium ), rhinoceroses (e. g., Lartetotherium ), suids (e. g., Listriodon ), bovids (e. g., Miotragocerus ), equids (e. g., Anchitherium ), hyaenids (e. g., Protictitherium ), and felids (e. g., Pseudaelurus ). Other associated primates are

1508-484: The extinction of great apes in Europe. Genus The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomists . The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: Moreover, genera should be composed of phylogenetic units of

1560-446: The form "author, year" in zoology, and "standard abbreviated author name" in botany. Thus in the examples above, the genus Canis would be cited in full as " Canis Linnaeus, 1758" (zoological usage), while Hibiscus , also first established by Linnaeus but in 1753, is simply " Hibiscus L." (botanical usage). Each genus should have a designated type , although in practice there is a backlog of older names without one. In zoology, this

1612-737: The generic name (or its abbreviated form) still forms the leading portion of the scientific name, for example, Canis lupus lupus for the Eurasian wolf subspecies, or as a botanical example, Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus . Also, as visible in the above examples, the Latinised portions of the scientific names of genera and their included species (and infraspecies, where applicable) are, by convention, written in italics . The scientific names of virus species are descriptive, not binomial in form, and may or may not incorporate an indication of their containing genus; for example,

Dryopithecus - Misplaced Pages Continue

1664-704: The genus–which included specimens from across the Old World at the time–into three subgenera : Dryopithecus in Europe, Sivapithecus in Asia, and Proconsul in Africa. Afterwards, there was discussion over whether each of these subgenera should be elevated to genus. In 1979, Sivapithecus was elevated to genus, and Dryopithecus was subdivided again into the subgenera Dryopithecus in Europe, and Proconsul , Limnopithecus , and Rangwapithecus in Africa. Since that time, several more species were assigned and moved, and by

1716-431: The great apes Hispanopithecus , Anoiapithecus , and Pierolapithecus ; and the pliopithecid ape Pliopithecus . These fauna are consistent with a warm, forested, paratropical wetland environment, and it may have lived in a seasonal climate. For the Austrian Dryopithecus , plants such as Prunus , grapevines , black mulberry , strawberry trees , hickory , and chestnuts may have been important fruit sources; and

1768-439: The ground, it might have had the ability to stand upright like humans do. Modern Gorilla , Pan , and Pongo have a long pelvis, and a short lumbar because they are very large animals, which is why they usually walk on all fours. Humans have a longer, more flexible lumbar, which allow humans to stand upright, and walk efficiently on two legs. It is known that Rudapithecus had a more flexible torso than today's apes, because it

1820-633: The largest component, with 23,236 ± 5,379 accepted genus names, of which 20,845 ± 4,494 are angiosperms (superclass Angiospermae). By comparison, the 2018 annual edition of the Catalogue of Life (estimated >90% complete, for extant species in the main) contains currently 175,363 "accepted" genus names for 1,744,204 living and 59,284 extinct species, also including genus names only (no species) for some groups. The number of species in genera varies considerably among taxonomic groups. For instance, among (non-avian) reptiles , which have about 1180 genera,

1872-664: The latter two, oak, beech , elm , and pine honey sources. The late Miocene was the beginning of a drying trend in Europe. Increasing seasonality and dry spells in the Mediterranean region and the emergence of a Mediterranean climate likely caused the replacement of forestland and woodland by open shrubland ; and the uplift of the Alps caused tropical and warm-climate vegetation in Central Europe to retreat in favor of mid-latitude and alpine flora. This likely led to

1924-499: The lizard genus Anolis has been suggested to be broken down into 8 or so different genera which would bring its ~400 species to smaller, more manageable subsets. Rudapithecus Rudapithecus is a chimpanzee-like genus of ape which inhabited Europe during the Late Miocene , approximately 10 million years ago. One species is known, Rudapithecus hungaricus . The genus name " Rudapithecus " comes from where it

1976-403: The most (>300) have only 1 species, ~360 have between 2 and 4 species, 260 have 5–10 species, ~200 have 11–50 species, and only 27 genera have more than 50 species. However, some insect genera such as the bee genera Lasioglossum and Andrena have over 1000 species each. The largest flowering plant genus, Astragalus , contains over 3,000 species. Which species are assigned to a genus

2028-428: The name could not be used for both. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published the replacement name Ornithorhynchus in 1800. However, a genus in one kingdom is allowed to bear a scientific name that is in use as a generic name (or the name of a taxon in another rank) in a kingdom that is governed by a different nomenclature code. Names with the same form but applying to different taxa are called "homonyms". Although this

2080-479: The proceeding Middle Miocene disruption (a cooling event). It is possible great apes first evolved in Europe or Asia, and then migrated down into Africa. Based on measurements of the femoral head of the Spanish IPS41724, the living weight for a male Dryopithecus was estimated to be 44 kg (97 lb). Dryopithecus teeth are most similar to those of modern chimps. The teeth are small and have

2132-541: The provisions of the ICZN Code, e.g., incorrect original or subsequent spellings, names published only in a thesis, and generic names published after 1930 with no type species indicated. According to "Glossary" section of the zoological Code, suppressed names (per published "Opinions" of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature) remain available but cannot be used as the valid name for

Dryopithecus - Misplaced Pages Continue

2184-470: The same kind as other (analogous) genera. The term "genus" comes from Latin genus , a noun form cognate with gignere ('to bear; to give birth to'). The Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus popularized its use in his 1753 Species Plantarum , but the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708) is considered "the founder of the modern concept of genera". The scientific name (or

2236-408: The scientific epithet) of a genus is also called the generic name ; in modern style guides and science, it is always capitalised. It plays a fundamental role in binomial nomenclature , the system of naming organisms , where it is combined with the scientific name of a species : see Botanical name and Specific name (zoology) . The rules for the scientific names of organisms are laid down in

2288-497: The specific name particular to the wolf. A botanical example would be Hibiscus arnottianus , a particular species of the genus Hibiscus native to Hawaii. The specific name is written in lower-case and may be followed by subspecies names in zoology or a variety of infraspecific names in botany . When the generic name is already known from context, it may be shortened to its initial letter, for example, C. lupus in place of Canis lupus . Where species are further subdivided,

2340-412: The standard format for a species name comprises the generic name, indicating the genus to which the species belongs, followed by the specific epithet, which (within that genus) is unique to the species. For example, the gray wolf 's scientific name is Canis lupus , with Canis ( Latin for 'dog') being the generic name shared by the wolf's close relatives and lupus (Latin for 'wolf') being

2392-407: The subject of much turmoil, with new specimens being the basis of a new species or genus based on minute differences, resulting in several now-defunct species. By the 1960s, all non- human apes were classified into the now- obsolete family Pongidae , and extinct apes into Dryopithecidae . In 1965, English palaeoanthropologist David Pilbeam and American palaeontologist Elwyn L. Simons separated

2444-403: The taxon is termed a synonym ; some authors also include unavailable names in lists of synonyms as well as available names, such as misspellings, names previously published without fulfilling all of the requirements of the relevant nomenclatural code, and rejected or suppressed names. A particular genus name may have zero to many synonyms, the latter case generally if the genus has been known for

2496-408: The teeth of the Austrian Dryopithecus indicates a high-sugar diet, likely deriving from ripe fruits and honey. Dental wearing indicates Dryopithecus ate both soft and hard food, which could either indicate they consumed a wide array of different foods, or they ate harder foods as a fallback. Nonetheless, its unspecialized teeth indicate it had a flexible diet, and large body size would have permitted

2548-576: The values quoted are the mean of "accepted" names alone (all "uncertain" names treated as unaccepted) and "accepted + uncertain" names (all "uncertain" names treated as accepted), with the associated range of uncertainty indicating these two extremes. Within Animalia, the largest phylum is Arthropoda , with 151,697 ± 33,160 accepted genus names, of which 114,387 ± 27,654 are insects (class Insecta). Within Plantae, Tracheophyta (vascular plants) make up

2600-429: The virus species " Salmonid herpesvirus 1 ", " Salmonid herpesvirus 2 " and " Salmonid herpesvirus 3 " are all within the genus Salmonivirus ; however, the genus to which the species with the formal names " Everglades virus " and " Ross River virus " are assigned is Alphavirus . As with scientific names at other ranks, in all groups other than viruses, names of genera may be cited with their authorities, typically in

2652-570: Was discovered, in Rudabánya , Northern Hungary in 1965 and sent to Budapest in 1967. The specific name " hungaricus " refers to the country where it was discovered, in Hungary. Rudapithecus probably moved among branches like modern apes do now, holding its body upright, and climbing trees with its arms. Rudapithecus hungaricus differed from modern great apes by having a more flexible lumbar, which indicates when Rudapithecus came down to

SECTION 50

#1732764799290

2704-402: Was poorly developed, suggesting Dryopithecus was not as adept to suspensory behaviour as orangutans. The femoral neck , which connects the femoral head to the femoral shaft , is not very long nor steep; the femoral head is positioned low to the greater trochanter ; and the lesser trochanter is positioned more towards the backside. All these characteristics are important in the mobility of

#289710