17-710: Propliopithecoidea is a superfamily of catarrhine primates that inhabited Africa and the Arabian Peninsula during the Early Oligocene about 32 to 29 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Egypt , Oman and Angola . They are one of the earliest known families of catarrhines. They have a number of features in common with extant catarrhines, but also features that are primitive and not found in later catarrhine families. There are five species, which are close enough to be often viewed as all belonging to
34-555: A Propliopithecus sensu stricto clade. This prehistoric primate -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Catarrhine sister: Platyrrhini The parvorder Catarrhini / k æ t ə ˈ r aɪ n aɪ / (known commonly as catarrhine monkeys , Old World anthropoids , or Old World monkeys ) consists of the Cercopithecoidea and apes (Hominoidea). In 1812, Geoffroy grouped those two groups together and established
51-415: A single genus. They have a body mass of 4–8 kg (8.8–17.6 lb), similar in size to modern howler monkeys . Propliopithecus ankelae Propliopithecus chirobates Propliopithecus haeckeli Propliopithecus markgrafi aka Moeripithecus markgrafi Propliopithecus zeuxis aka Aegyptopithecus zeuxis Szalay & Delson (1979), Andrews (1985), Harrison (1987) and Begun (2012) argued that
68-469: A tubular ectotympanic (ear bone), and eight, not 12, premolars, giving them a dental formula of 2.1.2.3 2.1.2.3 , indicating 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars, and 3 molars on each side of the upper and lower jaws. Most catarrhine species show considerable sexual dimorphism and do not form a pair bond . Most, but not all, species live in social groups. Like the platyrrhines, the catarrhines are generally diurnal , and have grasping hands and (with
85-946: Is used to describe all simians, both with and without tails, including apes. Below is a cladogram with extinct species in which the crown Catharrhini, which emerged in the Propliopithecoidea . Also, Saadanioidea is sister of the Cercopithecoidea rather than of the Crown Catarrhini here. It is indicated how many million years ago (Mya) the clades diverged into newer clades. Platyrrhini Oligopithecidae (†34 Mya) Taqah Propliopithecid (†31) Propliopithecus (†30) Aegyptopithecus (†30) Kamoyapithecus (†25) Pliopithecoidea (†6) Micropithecus (†17) Hominoidea Saadanioidea (†28) Victoriapithecinae (†19) Crown Cercopithecoidea The Platyrrhini may have emerged in e.g.
102-462: The superfamily Hominoidea . This grouping comprises the two families: Hylobatidae , the lesser apes or gibbons; and Hominidae , the great apes, including orangutans , gorillas , chimpanzees , humans , and related extinct genera, such as the prehuman australopithecines and the giant orangutan relative Gigantopithecus . According to Schrago & Russo, New World monkeys split from their Old World kin about 35 million years ago (Mya). They use
119-959: The New World monkeys, the Platyrrhini . Some six million years before the ape - Cercopithecoidea bifurcation, the Platyrrhini emerged within "monkeys" by migration to South America from Afro-Arabia (the Old World), likely by ocean. The technical distinction between the New World platyrrhines and Old World catarrhines is the shape of their noses. The platyrrhines (from Ancient Greek platy- , "flat", and rhin- , "nose") have nostrils which face sideways. The catarrhines (from Ancient Greek katà- , "down", and rhin- , "nose") have nostrils that face downwards. Catarrhines also never have prehensile tails, and have flat fingernails and toenails,
136-724: The Oligopithecidae. The Saadanioidea may be sister to the Propliopithecoidea s.s., and Micropithecus may be sister to the Taqah Propliopithecids. Prehensile Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term prehendere , meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different origins. The most common are tree-climbing and
153-586: The catarrhines, including apes and extinct species such as Aegyptopithecus , in which case the apes, Cercopithecoidea and Aegyptopithecus emerged within the Old World Monkeys. Although the colloquial usage of terms like ape and monkey in English reflects a misconception about their true biological relationship, this is not the case in some other languages; for example, in Russian, the same term
170-470: The exception of bipedal humans) grasping feet. The apes – in both traditional and phylogenic nomenclature – are exclusively catarrhine species. In traditional usage, ape describes any tailless, larger, and more typically ground-dwelling species of catarrhine. "Ape" may be found as part of the common name of such species, such as the Barbary ape . In phylogenic usage, the term ape applies only to
187-578: The first catarrhines appearing in Africa and Arabia, and not appearing in Eurasia (outside Arabia) until 18-17 Mya. Catarrhini lost the enzyme Alpha-galactosidase , present in all other mammal lineages, sometime after the split from platyrrhini. It is hypothesized that an ancient pathogen containing Alpha-galactosidase may be responsible, as only individuals with mutations that "turned off" the gene for Alpha-galactosidase would have produced antibodies against
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#1732786965587204-657: The high degree of similarity means that all the propliopithecoids should be placed in a single genus. Herbert Thomas (1991), following examination of new material in Oman, argued for Moeripithecus markgrafi , citing 'striking differences in morphology' compared to P. haeckeli . Seiffert (2006) suggested that the fossils examined by Thomas might be better classified as P. ankeli . Seiffert et al. (2010) argued for three genera - Aegyptopithecus , Moeripithecus and Propliopithecus An additional fossil, an unnamed propliopithecid from Taqah , appears more basal, and as such not be part of
221-460: The major catarrhine division between cercopithecoids and hominoids of about 25 Mya (which they argue is strongly supported by the fossil evidence), as a calibration point, and from this also calculate the gibbons separating from the great apes (including humans) about 15-19 Mya. According to Begun and Harrison, the Catarrhini split from their New World monkey kin about 44 - 40 Mya, with
238-475: The name Catarrhini, "Old World monkeys", (" singes de l'Ancien Monde " in French ). Its sister in the infraorder Simiiformes is the parvorder Platyrrhini (New World monkeys). There has been some resistance to directly designate apes (and thus humans) as monkeys despite the scientific evidence, so "Old World monkey" may be taken to mean the Cercopithecoidea or the Catarrhini. That apes are monkeys
255-455: The need to manipulate food. Appendages that can become prehensile include: Prehensility affords animals a great natural advantage in manipulating their environment for feeding, climbing, digging , and defense. It enables many animals, such as primates, to use tools to complete tasks that would otherwise be impossible without highly specialized anatomy. For example, chimpanzees have the ability to use sticks to obtain termites and grubs in
272-504: The pathogen and survived. The distinction between apes and monkeys is complicated by the traditional paraphyly of monkeys : apes emerged as a sister group of Old World monkeys in the catarrhines, which are a sister group of New World monkeys. Therefore, cladistically , apes, catarrhines and related contemporary extinct groups such as Parapithecidae are monkeys as well, for any consistent definition of "monkey". "Old World Monkey" may also legitimately be taken to be meant to include all
289-401: Was already realized by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in the 18th century. Linnaeus placed this group in 1758 together with what we now recognise as the tarsiers and the New World monkeys, in a single genus " Simia " (sans Homo ). The Catarrhini are all native to Africa and Asia . Members of this parvorder are called catarrhines . The Catarrhini are the sister group to
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