''Mesopithecus'' ("middle monkey" for being between ''

Hylobates The genus ''Hylobates'' is one of the four genera of gibbons. Its name means "forest walker", from the Greek (, "forest") and (, "one who treads"). It was once considered the only genus, but recently its subgenera (''Hoolock'' ormerly ''Bun ...

'' and '' Semnopithecus'' in build) is an extinct genus of Old World monkey that lived in Europe and Asia 7 to 5 million years ago. ''Mesopithecus'' resembled a modern

macaque The macaques () constitute a genus (''Macaca'') of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and (in one instance) Gibraltar. Macaques are principally ...

, with a body length of about . It was adapted to both walking and climbing, possessing a slender body with long, muscular limbs and flexible fingers. Its teeth suggest that it primarily ate soft leaves and fruit. It was once thought that these extinct monkeys might be an ancestor of the

grey langur Gray langurs, also called Hanuman langurs and Hanuman monkeys, are Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the genus ''Semnopithecus''. Traditionally only one species ''Semnopithecus entellus'' was recognized, but since a ...

, but a study in 2004 suggested that they are more closely related to the snub-nosed monkeys and doucs.

Gallery

Mesopithecus pentelici.JPG, ''Mesopithecus pentelici'' skulls Les ancêtres de nos animaux dans les temps géologiques (Page 115, Fig. 31) white background.jpg, Skeletal restoration

References

External links

Rare Mesopithecus skull unearthed in Chalkidiki
Prehistoric monkeys Miocene primates of Europe Pliocene primates Miocene primates of Asia Prehistoric primate genera Prehistoric mammals of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1839 {{oldworld-monkey-stub