''Simiolus'' is an extinct genus of dendropithecid

primate 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 ...

s. It was described by

Mary Leakey Mary Douglas Leakey, FBA (née Nicol, 6 February 1913 – 9 December 1996) was a British paleoanthropologist who discovered the first fossilised ''Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A pro ...

and

Richard Leakey Richard Erskine Frere Leakey (19 December 1944 – 2 January 2022) was a Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservationist and politician. Leakey held a number of official positions in Kenya, mostly in institutions of archaeology and wildlife cons ...

in 1987, and the type species is ''S. enjiessi'', which existed during the

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 ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The species epithet is a phonetic pun on the acronym

NGS NGS may refer to: Places * NGSO (NGS orbit), non-geostationary orbit * Nagasaki Airport (IATA airport code: NGS) in Omura, Nagasaki, Japan Organisations * National Galleries of Scotland, representing the national art collection of Scotland * Na ...

.Page 182, ''The ape in the tree: an intellectual & natural history of Proconsul'', by Alan Walker, Pat Shipman. Harvard University Press, 2005. / A new species, ''S. andrewsi'', also from the middle Miocene of Kenya, was described by Terry Harrison in 2010.Harrison, Terry (2010). "Chapter 24: Dendropithecoidea, Proconsuloidea, and Hominoidea (Catarrhini, Primates)". In Werdelin, L.; Sanders, W.J. Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press. pp. 429–469. . In November 2018, scientists reported the discovery of the smallest known

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 ...

, ''Simiolus minutus'', which weighed approximately eight pounds, and lived about 12.5 million years ago in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

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*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

Species

* ''Simiolus enjiessi'' Leakey & Leakey, 1987 * ''Simiolus leakeyorum'' * ''Simiolus cheptumoae'' Pickford & Kunimatsu, 2005 * ''Simiolus andrewsi'' Harrison, 2010 * ''Simiolus minutus'' Rossie & Hill, 2018

Notes

References

Miocene primates of Africa Miocene mammals of Africa Prehistoric primate genera Fossil taxa described in 1987 {{paleo-primate-stub