Proconsul major, an extinct primate of the genus Proconsul, was possibly the ancestor of Afropithecus and showed hominid characteristics. It occurred during the early Miocene and was roughly, the size of a gorilla. The species previously referred to as Ugandapithecus major is now considered to be a synonym of Proconsul major.[1] Prior to 2000 it was known as Proconsul major[2] and some argue against the renaming.[3]
Proconsul major had a typical primate dental formula of 2.1.2.32.1.2.3. The canines are sexually dimorphic. The inferior transverse torus is absent and the superior transverse torus is well-developed in Proconsul major. This species had an average body mass of around 50 kg (110 lb).
Fossil findsedit
A nearly complete fossilized P. major skull estimated to be 20 million years old was found at the Napak XV site near Iriri on the slope of the extinct Napak Volcano in July 2011 by a team led by Martin Pickford and Brigitte Senut.[4][5] After a year of cleaning, documentation and reconstruction in Paris, the skull fragments are now on display in the Uganda Museum in Kampala.[6]
Previously, only smaller pieces of younger fossils had been found at Napak and at the Moroto I site near Loitakero.
Referencesedit
^Senut, Brigitte; Pickford, Martin; Gommery, Dominique; Kunimatsu, Yutaka (15 August 2000). "Un nouveau genre d'hominoïde du Miocène inférieur d'Afrique orientale : Ugandapithecus major (Le Gros Clark & Leakey, 1950)". Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Série IIA. 331 (3): 227–233. Bibcode:2000CRASE.331..227S. doi:10.1016/S1251-8050(00)01407-5.
^Tuttle, RH (2010). Hidemi Ishida (ed.). Human origins and environmental backgrounds. New York: Springer. p. 20. ISBN978-1441939944.
^Begun, David (2007). "4 Fossil Record of Miocene Hominoids" (PDF). In Winfried Henke, Ian Tattersall (ed.). Handbook of paleoanthropology. New York: Springer. p. 934. ISBN978-3540324744.
^Mennessier, Marc (2011-09-21). "Découverte d'un lointain cousin des hominidés". Le Figaro.
^Kostov, Nicolas (August 26, 2011). "Ugandapithecus Major: Our cousin, 20 million years ago". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
proconsul, major, extinct, primate, genus, proconsul, possibly, ancestor, afropithecus, showed, hominid, characteristics, occurred, during, early, miocene, roughly, size, gorilla, species, previously, referred, ugandapithecus, major, considered, synonym, prior. Proconsul major an extinct primate of the genus Proconsul was possibly the ancestor of Afropithecus and showed hominid characteristics It occurred during the early Miocene and was roughly the size of a gorilla The species previously referred to as Ugandapithecus major is now considered to be a synonym of Proconsul major 1 Prior to 2000 it was known as Proconsul major 2 and some argue against the renaming 3 Proconsul majorTemporal range MioceneScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass MammaliaOrder PrimatesSuborder HaplorhiniInfraorder SimiiformesFamily ProconsulidaeGenus ProconsulSpecies P majorBinomial name Proconsul majorLe Gros Clark amp Leakey 1950SynonymsUgandapithecus majorLe Gros Clark amp Leakey 1950Proconsul major lived on the continent of Africa in the region around Moroto Uganda Based upon dental morphology Proconsul major was a frugivorous species Contents 1 Morphology 2 Fossil finds 3 References 4 External linksMorphology editProconsul major had a typical primate dental formula of 2 1 2 3 2 1 2 3 The canines are sexually dimorphic The inferior transverse torus is absent and the superior transverse torus is well developed in Proconsul major This species had an average body mass of around 50 kg 110 lb Fossil finds editA nearly complete fossilized P major skull estimated to be 20 million years old was found at the Napak XV site near Iriri on the slope of the extinct Napak Volcano in July 2011 by a team led by Martin Pickford and Brigitte Senut 4 5 After a year of cleaning documentation and reconstruction in Paris the skull fragments are now on display in the Uganda Museum in Kampala 6 Previously only smaller pieces of younger fossils had been found at Napak and at the Moroto I site near Loitakero References edit Senut Brigitte Pickford Martin Gommery Dominique Kunimatsu Yutaka 15 August 2000 Un nouveau genre d hominoide du Miocene inferieur d Afrique orientale Ugandapithecus major Le Gros Clark amp Leakey 1950 Comptes Rendus de l Academie des Sciences Serie IIA 331 3 227 233 Bibcode 2000CRASE 331 227S doi 10 1016 S1251 8050 00 01407 5 Tuttle RH 2010 Hidemi Ishida ed Human origins and environmental backgrounds New York Springer p 20 ISBN 978 1441939944 Begun David 2007 4 Fossil Record of Miocene Hominoids PDF In Winfried Henke Ian Tattersall ed Handbook of paleoanthropology New York Springer p 934 ISBN 978 3540324744 Mennessier Marc 2011 09 21 Decouverte d un lointain cousin des hominides Le Figaro Kostov Nicolas August 26 2011 Ugandapithecus Major Our cousin 20 million years ago Daily Monitor Retrieved 12 July 2012 Nyanzi Peter Aloysious Kasoma 2012 08 18 Bienvenue Ugandapithecus Major The Independent Kampala Retrieved 2012 08 28 External links editProconsul major A riot of Apes in the Miocene Noel T Boaz Mikko s Phylogeny archives nbsp This prehistoric primate related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Proconsul major amp oldid 1204234174, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
