Victoriapithecus

Victoriapithecus macinnesi was a primate. It was described from a single fossil specimen, the oldest Old World monkey skull fossil. It was discovered near Lake Victoria in Kenya by Dr. Brenda Benefit. It dates from the middle Miocene and was closely related to the two or three extinct Prohylobates species.

Victoriapithecus
Temporal range: Middle Miocene
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Skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Superfamily: Cercopithecoidea
Family: †Victoriapithecidae
Genus: †Victoriapithecus
von Koenigswald, 1969
Species:
†V. macinnesi
Binomial name
†Victoriapithecus macinnesi

Description
Restoration by Mauricio Antón

Victoriapithecus macinnesi had a dental formula of 2:1:2:3 on both the upper and lower jaws. Its lower molars are bilophodont with low cusps. The canines show sexual dimorphism and the mandible is relatively deep compared to other Old World monkeys. On the forelimbs, the distal end of the humerus shows a narrow articulation and a deep ulnar notch. It had an average body mass of around 7 kg (15 lb)[1] and the volume of its brain was 36 cm3.[2][3]

Range and locomotion

Victoriapithecus macinnesi lived in Africa. The postcranial remains indicate it was likely quadrupedal.[1]

References
  1. Fleagle, John G. (25 September 1998). Primate Anatomy and Evolution (second ed.). Academic Press. pp. 491–495. ISBN 978-0-12-260341-9.
  2. Old World Monkey Had Tiny, Complex Brain
  3. Cerebral complexity preceded enlarged brain size and reduced olfactory bulbs in Old World monkeys
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