Ouranopithecus
| Ouranopithecus Temporal range: Miocene,
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|---|---|
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| Ouranopithecus macedoniensis skull in the French National Museum of Natural History, Paris | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Family: | Hominidae |
| Tribe: | †Graecopithecini |
| Genus: | †Ouranopithecus Bonis & Melentis, 1977 |
| Species | |
Ouranopithecus is a genus of extinct Eurasian great ape represented by two species, Ouranopithecus macedoniensis, a late Miocene (9.6–8.7 mya) hominoid from Greece[1] and Ouranopithecus turkae, also from the late Miocene (8.7–7.4 mya) of Turkey.[2]
The first specimen, O. macedoniensis was discovered by French palaeontologists Louis de Bonis and Jean Melentis in 1977,[3] and O. turkae by Turkish team led by Erksin Savaş Güleç in 2007.[2] For a long time it was considered as similar (synonymous) to Graecopithecus and member of the genus Sivapithecus,[4] which is something today contested.
Description and systematics
[edit | edit source]Based on O. macedoniensis' dental and facial anatomy, it has been suggested that Ouranopithecus was actually a dryopithecine. However, it is probably more closely related to the Ponginae.[5][6] Some researchers consider O. macedoniensis to be the last common ancestor of humans (hominins) and the other apes,[7] and a forerunner to australopithecines and humans,[8] although this is very controversial and not widely accepted. It is true that O. macedoniensis shares derived features with some early hominins (such as the frontal sinus, a cavity in the forehead), but they are almost certainly not closely related species.[9]
In 1984, British palaeontologists Peter Andrews and Lawrence B. Martin classified Graecopithecus and Ouranopithecus as synonyms (same taxon) and treated them as members of the genus Sivapithecus.[4][10] However, comparative analysis showed that there is not enough data to support the synonymy.[11]
When more O. macedoniensis fossils were discovered[12] including part of the skull in the 1990s,[13] it became apparent that O. macedoniensis and G. freybergi are distinct species. In the light of new data, in 1997, Australian palaeontologist David W. Cameron treated Graecopithecus as a valid genus based on taxonomic priority and renamed O. macedoniensis as Graecopithecus macedoniensis.[14][15] However, better O. macedoniensis specimens were found[16] including a new species Ouranopithecus turkae from Turkey[17] that warranted separation of the genus. Furthermore, a controversial paper in 2017 claimed that Graecopithecus is more closely related to hominins than to other great apes,[18] which if true would clearly distinguish it from Ouranopithecus specimens. Separate genus for the two therefore continue to be generally adopted.[19][20][21]
See also
[edit | edit source]- Anoiapithecus – Extinct genus of ape from the Miocene
- Chororapithecus – Extinct hominine genus from the Miocene
- Dryopithecus – Extinct great ape from Europe
- Nakalipithecus – Extinct species of ape
- Pierolapithecus – Extinct species of ape from Miocene Europe
- Samburupithecus – Extinct genus of primate from Miocene Kenya
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Human Timeline (Interactive) – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016).
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