''Morotopithecus'' is a species of fossil

ape Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its siste ...

discovered in

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

-age deposits of Moroto,

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. The

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

status of ''Morotopithecus bishopi'' is debated to the extent that it challenges established views on the connection between Miocene primates and extant hominids (i.e. great apes).

Parsimonious Occam's razor, Ockham's razor, or Ocham's razor ( la, novacula Occami), also known as the principle of parsimony or the law of parsimony ( la, lex parsimoniae), is the problem-solving principle that "entities should not be multiplied beyond neces ...

phylogenetic analyses indicate ''Morotopithecus'' is more derived than ''

Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

'', '' Afropithecus'', and '' Kenyapithecus'', but less derived than '' Oreopithecus'', '' Sivapithecus'', and ''

Dryopithecus ''Dryopithecus'' is a genus of extinct great apes from the middle–late Miocene boundary of Europe 12.5 to 11.1 million years ago (mya). Since its discovery in 1856, the genus has been subject to taxonomic turmoil, with numerous new species b ...

''. Under this arrangement, ''Morotopithecus'' would be a sister taxon to extant great apes while ''

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 ...

'' (

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...

s) seem to have branched off before this clade appeared. However, gibbons are believed to have branched off while ''Morotopithecus'' is dated to more than . In a comparison of teeth characteristics of ''Morotopithecus'' to '' Afropithecus'' the results showed little difference, plus evidence gathered from cranial comparisons also indicate that the two genera may be the same, a conclusion of limited confidence due to the lack of evidence to produce a complete anatomy for both (Patel, Grossman 2005). Meanwhile, Pickford (2002) referred the vertebrae to ''

Ugandapithecus ''Ugandapithecus'' is a disputed extinct genus of hominoid primates that existed from 22 to 14 million years ago during the Miocene epoch. Fossil remains are present in Eastern Africa including Kenya and Uganda. Four species have been classified ...

'', and considered ''Morotopithecus'' synonymous with ''Afropithecus''.Pickford, M. (2002). New reconstruction of the Moroto hominoid snout and a reassessment of its affinities to Afropithecus turkanensis. Human Evolution, 17, 1–19.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q18642042, from2=Q138110 Prehistoric apes Miocene primates of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1997 Prehistoric primate genera Miocene mammals of Africa Monotypic prehistoric primate genera