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Notes onRamapithecus, the earliest known hominid, andDryopithecus

1966; Wiley; Volume: 25; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/ajpa.1330250102

1096-8644

David Pilbeam,

Primate Behavior and Ecology

Abstract Recent paleontological analysis of the Higher Primate subfamily Dryopithecinae shows that fossils in this group can be referred to two genera, Ramapithecus and Dryopithecus. Ramapithecus is known from India and East Africa in Late Miocene or Early Pliocene time (about 14 m. years ago). The remains of Ramapithecus resemble closely the equivalent parts of the later Hominidae and contrast with those of the Pongidae. It is concluded that Ramapithecus is the earliest known hominid, some 5 or 6 times older than the oldest Pleistocene hominids. Dryopithecus is a pongid and contains as subgenera ( Dryopithecus ), ( Proconsul ), and ( Sivapithecus ). Probably part of ( Proconsul ) is ancestral to the chimpanzee and part to the gorilla, while part of ( Sivapithecus ) is ancestral to the orang‐utan.