''Dinopithecus'' ("terrible ape") is an extinct genus of very large primate closely related to the baboon that lived during the Pliocene to the Pleistocene epoch of South Africa and Ethiopia. It was named by British paleontologist Robert Broom in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

. The only species currently recognized is ''Dinopithecus ingens'', as ''D. quadratirostris'' has been reassigned to the genus ''Soromandrillus.'' It is known from several infilled cave sites in South Africa, all of early Pleistocene age, including Skurweberg, Swartkrans (Member 1), and

Sterkfontein Sterkfontein (Afrikaans for ''Strong Spring'') is a set of limestone caves of special interest to paleo-anthropologists located in Gauteng province, about northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Muldersdrift area close to the town of K ...

(Member 4 or 5, but probably member 4).

Description

''Dinopithecus ingens'' was approximately twice the size of the largest living baboons, with males averaging and females , based on estimates from the molar teeth. In some cases males were estimated to reach in maturity a weight of . The most distinguishing feature of the genus is its large size in comparison to other papionins. The only other papionin species to attain a similar size were '' Theropithecus brumpti'' and '' Theropithecus oswaldi''. These, however, are very different from ''Dinopithecus'' in their dental morphology. Overall, the skull is similar to that of modern baboons, except that it generally lacks the facial fossae (depressions on the sides of the muzzle and lower jaw) and maxillary ridges (ridges of bone that run along the upper sides of the snout). For these reasons, ''Dinopithecus'' is sometimes treated as a subgenus of ''

Papio 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 ...

''.

Paleoecology

Most living papionins are omnivorous feeders that consume a wide range of readily digestible plant parts, especially fruits, as well as insects and other invertebrates, and small vertebrates. An analysis of the carbon isotopes from samples of its tooth enamel found ''Dinopithecus'' to consume the smallest portion of grass and other savanna-based foods of any South African primate. Analysis of the microwear patterns on the molar teeth showed that they were similar to those of the living yellow baboon (''

Papio cynocephalus The yellow baboon (''Papio cynocephalus'') is a baboon in the family of Old World monkeys. The species epithet means "dog-head" in Greek, due to the dog-like shape of the muzzle and head. Yellow baboons have slim bodies with long arms and legs, a ...

''), suggesting a broad and eclectic diet. A study of the adaptations of the molar teeth suggested that ''D. ingens'' ate a very high percentage of fruit and relatively few leaves. No bones of the limbs or other parts beyond the skulls and teeth have been attributed to ''Dinopithecus'', so it is impossible to know its mode of locomotion for certain. However, as a papionin of very large size, it most probably spent a significant amount of time on the ground and moved quadrupedally.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q5278601, from2=Q107736475 Pliocene primates Pliocene mammals of Africa Pleistocene primates Pleistocene mammals of Africa Prehistoric monkeys Prehistoric primate genera Taxa named by Robert Broom Fossil taxa described in 1937