Mesopithecus

Mesopithecus; Temporal range: Late Miocene–Late Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Subfamily:	Colobinae
Genus:	Mesopithecus; Wagner, 1839
Species
	Mesopithecus monspessulanus; Gervais 1859; Mesopithecus pentelici ; Wagner 1839 (type);

Mesopithecus ("middle monkey") is an extinct genus of Old World monkey that lived in Europe and Asia 7 to 5 million years ago.^[1]^[2]^[3] Mesopithecus resembled a modern macaque, with a body length of about 40 centimetres (16 in). It was adapted to both walking and climbing, possessing a slender body with long, muscular limbs and flexible fingers. Its teeth suggest that it primarily ate soft leaves and fruit.^[4] It was once thought that these extinct monkeys might be an ancestor of the grey langur, but a more recent study^[5] suggests that they are more closely related to the snub-nosed monkeys and doucs.

Gallery

Mesopithecus pentelici skulls
Skeletal restoration

References

^ Fossils of 6.4-Million-Year-Old Monkey Found in China; on: sci-news; Oct 9, 2020
^ Xueping Ji et al.: Oldest colobine calcaneus from East Asia (Zhaotong, Yunnan, China). In: Journal of Human Evolution Vol. 147: 102866; October 2020; doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102866
^ Jablonski, Nina G.; et al. (6 August 2020). "Mesopithecus pentelicus from Zhaotong, China, the easternmost representative of a widespread Miocene cercopithecoid species". Journal of Human Evolution. 145. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102851. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 289. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
^ Pan, Ruliang; Groves, Colin; Oxnard, Charles (2004). "Relationships Between the Fossil Colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus and Extant Cercopithecoids, Based on Dental Metrics" (PDF). American Journal of Primatology. 62 (4): 287–299. doi:10.1002/ajp.20022. PMID 15085533. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-27. Retrieved 2009-01-26.

External links

Rare Mesopithecus skull unearthed in Chalkidiki

[1] Fossils of 6.4-Million-Year-Old Monkey Found in China; on: sci-news; Oct 9, 2020

[2] Xueping Ji et al.: Oldest colobine calcaneus from East Asia (Zhaotong, Yunnan, China). In: Journal of Human Evolution Vol. 147: 102866; October 2020; doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102866

[JHE-20200901-3] Jablonski, Nina G.; et al. (6 August 2020). "Mesopithecus pentelicus from Zhaotong, China, the easternmost representative of a widespread Miocene cercopithecoid species". Journal of Human Evolution. 145. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102851. Retrieved 10 October 2020.

[EoDP-4] Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 289. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

[5] Pan, Ruliang; Groves, Colin; Oxnard, Charles (2004). "Relationships Between the Fossil Colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus and Extant Cercopithecoids, Based on Dental Metrics" (PDF). American Journal of Primatology. 62 (4): 287–299. doi:10.1002/ajp.20022. PMID 15085533. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-27. Retrieved 2009-01-26.

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