''Ouranopithecus turkae'' is a prehistoric

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of ''

Ouranopithecus ''Ouranopithecus'' ("celestial ape" from Ancient Greek οὐρανός (ouranós), "sky, heaven" + πίθηκος (píthēkos),"ape") is a genus of extinct Eurasian great ape represented by two species, ''Ouranopithecus macedoniensis'', a late M ...

'' from the

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma. The ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. This is known from the Corakyerler locality, central

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...

. It is known only from three cranial fossils. Dated faunal remains associated with the ''O. turkae'' fossils have been attributed to the late

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 recent" ...

8.7 – 7.4 million years ago, making ''O. turkae'' one of the youngest Eurasian

great ape The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the e ...

s ever known.

Etymology

''Ouranopithecus'' due to its similarities with its probable sister

taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

'' O. macedoniensis''. ''Turkae'' after the discovery of the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

fossils in the Republic of Turkey.

Habitat

Associated faunal remains suggest ''O. turkae'' lived in either open woodland or an open savannah type environment.

Morphology

The morphology of ''O. turkae'' is difficult to determine due to the complete lack of post-cranial remains. The post-canine dentary is second only to that of

Gigantopithecus ''Gigantopithecus'' ( ; ) is an extinct genus of ape from roughly 2 million to 350,000 years ago during the Early to Middle Pleistocene of southern China, represented by one species, ''Gigantopithecus blacki''. Potential identifications have also ...

in size, perhaps suggesting a large body size. It is unknown whether the species was sexually dimorphic as there are no known female fossils. The ape was probably a

quadruped Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion where four limbs are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four limbs is said to be a quadruped (from Latin ''quattuo ...

but there is no evidence to confirm this.

Diet

Tooth morphology and wear suggest a diet of tough, abrasive food, the kind typically found in the type of environment ''O. turkae'' probably lived in.

Behaviour

Again, the lack of post-cranial remains makes it difficult to determine how ''O. turkae'' behaved. The fossils were not associated with any females of the species so it could be suggested that the males, at least, were solitary. It may also be assumed that ''O. turkae'' climbed trees, possibly to feed or to avoid predation, although their suggested large body size may have made climbing difficult. Some believe ''O. turkae'' was probably a terrestrial forager and did not feed in the trees.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1544197 Miocene primates of Asia Prehistoric apes Fossil taxa described in 2007 Prehistoric Anatolia