''Pliobates cataloniae'' is a species of stem-ape that was found to be the sister taxon to

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 and great apes like humans. Its anatomy is gibbon-like; prior to this discovery, it was assumed that the ancestral ape

bauplan A body plan, ( ), or ground plan is a set of morphological features common to many members of a phylum of animals. The vertebrates share one body plan, while invertebrates have many. This term, usually applied to animals, envisages a "bluep ...

was robust like ''

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 ' ...

''. This species has mosaic characteristics of primitive, monkey-like features and the more derived ape characteristics; it was, however, not a direct ancestor of modern apes but rather a side-branch that retained the ancestral morphotype and was thus placed in its own family Pliobatidae.

References

Prehistoric apes Monotypic prehistoric primate genera Prehistoric primate genera Fossil taxa described in 2015 {{paleo-primate-stub