''Gorgopithecus'' ("fierce ape" from Ancient Greek γοργος (gorgos), "fierce" + πίθηκος (píthēkos), "ape") is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

, in the old word monkey family

Cercopithecidae Old World monkey is the common English name for a family of primates known taxonomically as the Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons ...

, closely related to the

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ba ...

s. There is only one known species, ''Gorgopithecus major.'' It has been found at sites from the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

Epoch in South Africa and Tanzania. It was first discovered at the

Kromdraai Kromdraai Conservancy is a protected conservation park located to the south-west of Gauteng province in north-east South Africa. It is in the Muldersdrift area not far from Krugersdorp. Etymology Its name is derived from Afrikaans meaning "Cro ...

A (also called the Kromdraai "Faunal") site in South Africa. It has since been found from

Swartkrans Swartkrans is a fossil-bearing cave designated as a South African National Heritage Site, located about from Johannesburg. It is located in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and is notable for being extremely rich in archaeological m ...

(member 1), South Africa. Most recently, it has been recognized from the DKI site in Bed I of

Olduvai Gorge The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge in Tanzania is one of the most important paleoanthropology, paleoanthropological localities in the world; the many sites exposed by the gorge have proven invaluable in furthering understanding of early human ev ...

, Tanzania, which has been dated to 1.8 million years old.

Description

''Gorgopithecus major'' was somewhat larger in body size than the largest extant baboons, with males estimated to have weighed approximately 37 kg on average, based on dental size. Like most other papionin (baboons and their close relatives) monkeys, it had a large degree of sexual dimorphism where males are much larger than females and have large, fang-like,

canine teeth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dog teeth, or (in the context of the upper jaw) fangs, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or vampire fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. They can appear more flattened howeve ...

. Like other baboons, it has a long snout, but is distinguished from other papionin monkeys by the presence of deeply excavated fossae on the sides of its snout (postcanine fossae), absence of maxillary ridges (crests of bone along the length of the snout), and short

nasal bone The nasal bones are two small oblong bones, varying in size and form in different individuals; they are placed side by side at the middle and upper part of the face and by their junction, form the bridge of the upper one third of the nose. Eac ...

Paleoecology

The diet of ''Gorgopithecus'' was probably similar in many ways to that of living baboons and macaques, which are mostly opportunistic feeders with an omnivorous diet dominated by fruit, roots, tubers, grass seeds, gums, soft leaves, but also occasional insects and other animal foods. The morphology of the molar teeth suggest it ate mostly fruits and other easily digested plant parts. Microwear analysis of teeth from

, South Africa was consistent with leaf eating, but samples were too small for statistical analysis. To date, no limb bones or other elements of the

postcrania Postcrania (postcranium, adjective: postcranial) in zoology and vertebrate paleontology is all or part of the skeleton apart from the skull. Frequently, fossil remains, e.g. of dinosaurs or other extinct tetrapods, consist of partial or isolated sk ...

l skeleton have been attributed to ''G. major'' so its manner of locomotion and whether it preferred life in the trees or on the ground is unknown.

References

Prehistoric monkeys Papionini Prehistoric primate genera Pliocene mammals of Africa Pleistocene mammals of Africa Pliocene primates Pleistocene primates Fossil taxa described in 1948 Taxa named by Robert Broom {{oldworld-monkey-stub