Theropithecus

Theropithecus is a genus of primates in the family Cercopithecidae. It contains a single living species, the gelada (Theropithecus gelada), native to the Ethiopian Highlands.

Theropithecus Temporal range: Pliocene-Recent 4.1–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Male gelada
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Subfamily:	Cercopithecinae
Tribe:	Papionini
Genus:	Theropithecus I. Geoffroy, 1843
Type species
Theropithecus gelada (Rüppell, 1835)
Species
See text

Additional species are known from fossils, including:

• †Theropithecus brumpti^[1][2]
• †Theropithecus darti
• †Theropithecus oswaldi^[3]

The earliest remains probably belonging to the genus are from Kanapoi, Kenya, dating to the early Pliocene, around 4.1-4.2 million years ago.^[2]

Although most remains are known from Africa,^[2] during the Early Pleistocene the genus had a broader distribution ranging from southern Europe, including Spain^[4] and possibly Italy,^[5] to the Indian subcontinent.^[6]