Proteopithecidae is an extinct family of

primates Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

which lived in the

Priabonian The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage of t ...

(late Eocene) and probably early

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

periods. Fossils that have been found are in the

Jebel Qatrani Formation The Jebel Qatrani Formation (also Gebel Qatrani) is a palaeontological and geologic formation located in the Faiyum Governorate of central Egypt. Conformably overlying the Qasr el Sagha Formation. It is exposed namely between the Jebel Qat ...

in Egypt. Currently two

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

are recognised, each with a single species, those being '' Proteopithecus sylviae'' and ''

Serapia eocaena Proteopithecidae is an extinct family of primates which lived in the Priabonian (late Eocene) and probably early Oligocene periods. Fossils that have been found are in the Jebel Qatrani Formation in Egypt. Currently two genera are recognised, eac ...

''.Seiffert, Erik & Simons, Elwyn & Fleagle, John & Godinot, Marc. (2010). Paleogene Anthropoids. pages 369-392. In 'Cenozoic Mammals of Africa' (editors Lars Wardelin and William Sanders) University of California Press 6 August 2010 ''Proteopithecus sylviae'' is unusual in having a large degree of sexual dimorphism of the canine teeth, which is unknown in extant primates of a similar (relatively small) size. It was arboreal, probably diurnal, probably with a diet of fruit and insects. It weighed around 250 grams. It was the first Eocene anthropoid for which postcranial remains were found. The hindlimbs are similar to those of

platyrrhines New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboidea ...

and indicates an animal that would do a considerable amount of running and

pronograde Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion where four limbs are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four limbs is said to be a quadruped (from Latin ''quattuor ...

(four limbed) leaping.

Classification

Seiffert et al. (2010) note that Simons, the discoverer of ''Serapia'' originally placed it within the Parapithecidae, but in 2001 transferred ''Serapia'' to the Proteopithecidae, a view supported by Gunnell and Miller (2001), Beard (2002), and Seiffert et al. (2004 & 2005a). Kay and Williams (2013, edited by Feagle and Kay) continue to place ''Serapia'' in the parapithecidae as part of a proposed sub-family, Qatraniinae, alongside ''

Arsinoea ''Arsinoea'' is an extinct genus of primates of which there is one known species, ''Arsinoea kallimos''. ''Arsinoea kallimos'' from the late Eocene quarry L-41, Fayum Depression. References External links *Arsinoea kallimos' in the Paleobi ...

'' and '' Qatrania'' (they note these all share similar dental features to each other, but they are more primitive than other parapithecidae they also note that the similarity may be because of shared lineage rather than being closely related).Richard F. Kay, Blythe A Williams ''Anthropoid Origins: New Visions (Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects)'', Springer, 2013, page=409

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q33135758 Prehistoric primates Primate families Eocene first appearances Oligocene extinctions Prehistoric mammal families