Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Kenyapithecus

Extinct genus of primates From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kenyapithecus
Remove ads

Kenyapithecus wickeri is a fossil ape discovered by Louis Leakey in 1961 at a site called Fort Ternan in Kenya. The upper jaw and teeth were dated to 14 million years ago.[2] One theory states that Kenyapithecus may be the common ancestor of all the great apes. More recent investigations suggest Kenyapithecus is more primitive than that and is only slightly more modern than Proconsul, which is considered to be an ape.

Quick Facts Kenyapithecus Temporal range: 14 Million years ago, Scientific classification ...
Remove ads

Evidence suggests that Kenyapithecus wickeri was one of the species that started a radiation of apes out of Africa.

Remove ads

Morphology

Impressed by Kenyapithecus's modern-looking teeth, Leakey declared Kenyapithecus to be "a very early ancestor of man himself."[3]

Kenyapithecus possessed craniodental adaptations for hard object feeding including thicker molar enamel, and a large mandible, large premolars and upper incisors that are similar to those seen in living pitheciine monkeys.[4] Kenyapithecus also possessed macaque-like limbs adapted for a knuckle-walking mode of semi-terrestrial locomotion.[5] This could show that as hominins evolved, they passed through a knuckle-walking phase.

Kenyapithecus wickeri has very distinct features, especially details in the canine teeth and is similar to modern apes.

Remove ads

See also

References

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads