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Dryopithecus was a genus of apes that is known from Eastern Africa into Eurasia during the late Miocene period. The first species of Dryopithecus was discovered at the site of Saint-Gaudens, Haute-Garonne, France, in 1856.^1] Other dryopithecids have been found in Hungary,^[2] Spain,^[3] and China.^[4]

Like Sivapithecus, Dryopithecus was suspensory, had a large brain, and a delayed development, but, unlike the former, it had a gracile jaw with thinly enameled molars and suspensory forelimbs; Begun 2004 notes that the similarities and differences between them provides insight into the timing and paleogeography of hominid origins and the phylogenetic divide between Asian and Afro-European great apes. ^[5]

Description

Dryopithecus was about 60 centimetres (24 in) in body length, and more closely resembled a monkey than a modern ape. The structure of its limbs and wrists show that it walked in a similar way to modern chimpanzees, but that it used the flat of its hands, like a monkey, rather than knuckle-walking, like modern apes.^[6] Its face exhibited klinorhynchy, with its face being tilted downwards in profile.

It likely spent most of its life in trees, and was probably a brachiator, similar to modern orangutans and gibbons. Its molars had relatively little enamel, suggesting that it ate soft leaves and fruit, an ideal food for a tree-dwelling animal.^[6]

The five-cusp and juvenile^[7] fissure pattern of its molar teeth, known as the Y-5 arrangement, is typical of the dryopithecids and of hominoids in general.

Additional images

Description

Dryopithecus was about 60 centimetres (24 in) in body length, and more closely resembled a monkey than a modern ape. The structure of its limbs and wrists show that it walked in a similar way to modern chimpanzees, but that it used the flat of its hands, like a monkey, rather than knuckle-walking, like modern apes.^[6] Its face exhibited klinorhynchy, with its face being tilted downwards in profile.

It likely spent most of its life in trees, and was probably a brachiator, similar to modern orangutans and gibbons. Its molars had relatively little enamel, suggesting that it ate soft leaves and fruit, an ideal food for a tree-dwelling animal.^[6]

The five-cusp and juvenile^[7] fissure pattern of its molar teeth, known as the Y-5 arrangement, is typical of the dryopithecids and of hominoids in general.

Additional images

Notes

The five-cusp and juvenile^[7] fissure pattern of its molar teeth, known as the Y-5 arrangement, is typical of the dryopithecids and of hominoids in general.

Additional images

Notes

References

External links

• Mikko's phylogeny archive