Parapithecus
Extinct genus of primates
Parapithecus is an extinct genus of primate that lived during the Late Eocene-Earliest Oligocene in what is now Egypt. Its members are considered to be basal anthropoids and the genus is closely related to Apidium. There are two known species. They lived about 40 to 33 million years ago.
01Description
Parapithecus had an unusual dentition, which contained no adult lower incisors. The upper dentition likely had four incisors. This means the adult dental formula can be expressed as: Incisors: 2/0; Canines: 1/1; Premolars: 3/3; Molars: 3/3.
02Palaeobiology
Palaeoecology
The dental microwear of Parapithecus was most similar to that of modern frugivorous primates, suggesting that Parapithecus fed mainly on fruits.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Parapithecus”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Parapithecus grangeri mandible 2.jpg by Ghedoghedo, CC BY-SA 3.0
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