Lufengpithecus

Lufengpithecus is an extinct genus of ape in the subfamily Ponginae. It is known from thousands of dental remains and a few skulls and probably weighed about 50 kg (110 lb).[1] It contains three species: L. lufengensis, L. hudienensis and L. keiyuanensis.

Lufengpithecus
Temporal range: Late Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Hominidae
Tribe: †Lufengpithecini
Genus: †Lufengpithecus
Wu, 1987
Species

See text

Characteristics

Like Sivapithecus, Lufengpithecus had heavy molars and large canine teeth. The lower third premolars sometimes have a slight second cusp, denoting a shift from their principal role as cutting teeth in other ape species.

While Lufengpithecus is generally considered to be a primitive pongine by most Western observers, Chinese scientists have noted a set of features that are more reminiscent of hominines. These include a broad interorbital distance, an "African" subnasal morphology, frontal sinuses, and a number of dental similarities. Also, basicranial and postcranial remains indicate it may have had adaptations for a significant degree of bipedalism. The ultimate position of Lufengpithecus in hominoid phylogeny requires more research.

A single mandibular fragment with P4 and M1 from the site of Longgupo in Sichuan, China, originally assigned to the genus Homo, has been argued to be similar to Lufengpithecus, suggesting the genus may have survived until as recently as two million years ago, possibly overlapping with both Gigantopithecus and ancient Pongo in the region.[2] One of the original authors who assigned the Longgupo specimen to Homo now considers it to be a "mystery ape".[3]

A possibly related species from Thailand was assigned to the genus Khoratpithecus under the specific name chiangmuanensis.[4] The species is known only from teeth, which appear to be intermediate in morphology between Sivapithecus and modern orangutans. The species lived about 10 million years ago and may have been the ancestor of modern orangutans.[5]

Species

Lufengpithecus lufengensis

Lufengpithecus lufengensis is an extinct ape recovered from lignite (soft coal) beds at the Shihuiba Locality in Lufeng County, Yunnan, China, dating to the latest Miocene. It was originally thought to represent two distinct species, Sivapithecus yunnanensis, thought to be an ancestor of Pongo (orangutans), and Ramapithecus lufengensis, thought to be an early human ancestor. The recognition in the 1980s that "Ramapithecus" fossils were females of Sivapithecus led to the creation of the new genus and species Lufengpithecus lufengensis to accommodate the large collection of hominoid fossils recovered at Lufeng in the 1970s. The species was recognized to have a very large degree of sexual dimorphism, more comparable to that seen in cercopithecoid monkeys than in any living ape.[1] The fossil remains from Shihuiba included a number of relatively complete but badly crushed crania of both male and female specimens.

Lufengpithecus hudienensis

Lufengpithecus hudienensis Ho et al., 1988 is a prehistoric species related to orangutans from the Late Miocene of China. In the 1980s and 1990s similar fossils were excavated from a number of localities in Yuanmou County, Yunnan, China, generally attributed to a new species Lufengpithecus hudienensis. The specimens include a large number of teeth, mandibular and maxillary fragments and the facial skeleton of a juvenile, comparable in dental age to the famous Taung infant australopithecine from South Africa.[6]

Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis

Hominoid fossil remains collected in the 1950s at Keiyuan County in Yunnan originally attributed to Dryopithecus keiyuanensis were subsequently assigned to Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis.[7][8]

See also

References
  1. Fleagle, John G. (25 September 1998). Primate Anatomy and Evolution (second ed.). Academic Press. pp. 474–475. ISBN 978-0-12-260341-9.
  2. Etler, D. A.; Crummett, T. L.; Wolpoff, M. H. (2001). "Longgupo: Early Homo colonizer or late Pliocene Lufengpithecus survivor in south China?" (PDF). Human Evolution. 16: 1–12. doi:10.1007/BF02438918. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-01-05.
  3. Ciochon, R. L. (2009). "The mystery ape of Pleistocene Asia" (PDF). Nature. 459 (7249): 910–911. doi:10.1038/459910a. PMID 19536242.
  4. Chaimanee, Y.; Jolly, D.; Benammi, M.; Tafforeau, P.; Duzer, D.; Moussa, I.; Jaeger, J. J. (2003). "A Middle Miocene hominoid from Thailand and orangutan origins" (PDF). Nature. 422 (6927): 61–65. doi:10.1038/nature01449. PMID 12621432. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-23.
  5. Chaimanee, Y.; Suteethorn, V.; Jintasakul, P.; Vidthayanon, C.; Marandat, B.; Jaeger, J. J. (2004). "A new orang-utan relative from the Late Miocene of Thailand" (PDF). Nature. 427 (6973): 439–441. doi:10.1038/nature02245. PMID 14749830. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-17.
  6. Schwartz; Wu; Liang (2003). "Preliminary investigation of dental microstructure in the Yuanmou hominoid (Lufengpithecus hudienensis), Yunnan Province, China". Journal of Human Evolution. 44 (2): 189–202. doi:10.1016/S0047-2484(02)00197-5. PMID 12662942.
  7. Woo, Ju-kang (1957). "Dryopithecus Teeth from Keiyuan, Yunnan Province" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 1 (1): 25–32. Archived from the original on 2020-09-09.
  8. Harrison, T.; Xueping, J.; Su, D. (2002). "On the systematic status of the late Neogene hominoids from Yunnan Province, China" (PDF). Journal of Human Evolution. 43 (2): 207–227. doi:10.1006/jhev.2002.0570. PMID 12160716.
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