''Dendropithecus'' is an extinct

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of apes native to

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

between 20 and 15 million years ago. ''Dendropithecus'' was originally suggested to be related to modern

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 forests from eastern Bangladesh and Northeast Indi ...

s, based primarily on similarities in size, dentition, and skeletal adaptations. However, further studies have shown that ''Dendropithecus'' lacks derived

hominoid Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a Family (biology), superfamily of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and Europe in prehistory, and counting humans ...

traits. Instead, the traits shared between this taxon and modern primates are primitive for all

catarrhines The parvorder Catarrhini (known commonly as catarrhine monkeys, Old World anthropoids, or Old World monkeys) consists of the Cercopithecoidea and apes (Hominoidea). In 1812, Geoffroy grouped those two groups together and established the name ...

. ''Dendropithecus'' is now considered to be a

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

catarrhine, too primitive to be closely related to any modern primates.

Description

''Dendropithecus'' was a slender ape, about in body length. The structure of its arms suggest that it would have been able to

brachiate Brachiation (from "brachium", Latin for "arm"), or arm swinging, is a form of arboreal locomotion in which primates swing from tree limb to tree limb using only their arms. During brachiation, the body is alternately supported under each forelimb ...

, swinging between trees by its arms, but that it would not have been as efficient at this form of movement as modern gibbons. However, its teeth suggest a very gibbon-like diet, likely consisting of fruit, soft leaves and flowers. Dental microwear of ''Dendropithecus'' suggests that it was a generalist

frugivore A frugivore ( ) is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance ...

that had the ability to fall back on

folivory In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...

if necessary.

Species

''Dendropithecus macinnesi'' was originally described as a new species of '' Limnopithecus'', ''L. macinnesi'', in 1950, before it was recognized as a distinct genus in 1977. ''D. ugandensis'', known primarily from material from Napak, Uganda, is morphologically similar to ''D. macinnesi'', but is 15-20% smaller than the type species. An additional species, ''D. orientalis'', was described in 1990 from middle Miocene deposits in northern Thailand, but was transferred to the pliopithecid genus '' Dionysopithecus'' in 1999.Begun, D.R. (2002). «The Pliopithecoidea». En Hartwig, W. C. ''The Primate Fossil Record''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 222-240. .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2170546 Dendropithecidae Miocene primates of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1977 Prehistoric primate genera