''Nacholapithecus kerioi'' was an ape that lived 14-15 million years ago during the Middle

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 ...

. Fossils have been found in the Nachola formation in northern

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

. The only member of the genus ''Nacholapithecus'', it is thought to be a key genus in early

hominid evolution Human evolution is the evolutionary process within the history of primates that led to the emergence of ''Homo sapiens'' as a distinct species of the hominid family, which includes the great apes. This process involved the gradual development of ...

. Similar in body plan to ''

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 ' ...

'', it had a long vertebral column with six lumbar vertebrae, no tail, a narrow torso, large upper limbs with mobile shoulder joints, and long feet. Together with other Kenyapithecinae such as ''

Equatorius ''Equatorius'' is an extinct genus of kenyapithecine primate found in central Kenya at the Tugen Hills. Thirty-eight large teeth belonging to this middle Miocene hominid in addition to a mandibular and partially complete skeleton dated 15.58 Ma ...

'', ''

Kenyapithecus ''Kenyapithecus wickeri'' is a fossil ape discovered by Louis Leakey in 1961 at a site called Fort Ternan in Kenya. The upper jaw and teeth were dated to 14 million years ago. One theory states that ''Kenyapithecus'' may be the common ances ...

'', and '' Griphopithecus'', ''Nacholapithecus'' displayed

synapomorphies In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to ha ...

with ''

Anoiapithecus ''Anoiapithecus'' is an extinct ape genus thought to be closely related to ''Dryopithecus''. Both genera lived during the Miocene, approximately 12 million years ago. Fossil specimens named by Salvador Moyà-Solà are known from the deposits f ...

''.

Taxonomy

Nacholapithecus was initially classified as belonging in ''

'', then attributed to ''Equatorius'' (with ''Equatorius'' perhaps grouped into a sub-family ''Equatorinae'', instead of both species in ''Afropithecini''), finally recognised by Ishida ''et al.'' (1999) as a separate genus. Classified perhaps as a member of the family ''

Proconsulidae Proconsulidae is an early family of primates that lived during the Miocene epoch in Kenya, and was restricted to Africa. Members of the family have a mixture of Old World monkey and ape characteristics, so the placement in the ape superfamily Hom ...

''.

Fossil finds

''Nacholapithecus kerioi'' is known from the lowest part of the Aka Aiteputh Formation, one of five formations in the Neogene System in Nachola,

Samburu District Samburu County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It covers an area of roughly 21,000 km2 (8,000 mi2) in northern Kenya where the Samburu, Turkana and many other tribes live. It stretches north from the Wuaso Ng ...

, northern Kenya. The formation is largely part of the north-western rift ''flank'' overlying the Nachola Formation.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5237039 Human evolution Miocene Anthropology Prehistoric Kenya Prehistoric primate genera