Nacholapithecus

Nacholapithecus
Temporal range: middle Miocene
Nacholapithecus kerioi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: †Kenaypithecinae
Genus: Nacholapithecus
Species: N. wickeri
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Nacholapithecus is a Middle Miocene genus of hominoid found in the Nachola formation in northern Kenya, a key genus in early hominid evolution. Similar in body plan to proconsul, 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.[1]

Together with other Kenyapithecinae such as Equatorius, Kenyapithecus, and Griphopithecus, Nachopithecus displayed synapomorphies with Anoiapithecus[2]

Taxonomy

Nacholapithecus was initially classified as belonging in Kenyapithecus (Ishida et al 1984), then attributed (Ward et al. 1999) to Equatorius (with Equatorius perhaps grouped into a sub-family Equatorinae, instead of both species in Afropithecini (Cameron 2004) [3]), finally recognised as a separate genus (Ishida et al 1999). [4][5] Classified perhaps as a member of the family Proconsulidae (I. S. Zalmout et al. 2010). [6]

Nacholapithecus kerioi

Nacholapithecus kerioi is a hominoid known from the Aka Aiteputh Formation, in Nachola, Northern Kenya. [7]

Formation

The formation is largely part of the north-western rift flank overlying the Nachola Formation,[8] part of the Neogene system (Samburu). [9]

Notes

References

Cameron, David W. (2004). Hominid Adaptations and Extinctions. UNSW Press. ISBN 9780868407166. 
Henke, Winfried; Hardt, Thorolf (29 May 2007). Handbook of paleoanthropology. Springer. ISBN 3-540-32474-7. 
Ishida, H; Kunimatsu, Y; Takano, T; Nakano, Y; Nakatsukasa, M (January 2004). "Nacholapithecus skeleton from the Middle Miocene of Kenya". J Hum Evol 46 (1): 69–103. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2003.10.001. PMID 14698685.  Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
Ishida, Hidemi; Tuttle, Russell; Pickford, Martin; Ogihara, Naomichi; Nakatsukasa, Masato, eds. (2006). Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer. ISBN 9780387296388. 
Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Alba, David M; Almécija, Sergio; Casanovas-Vilar, Isaac; Köhler, Meike; de Esteban-Trivigno, Soledad; Robles, Josep M; Galindo, Jordi; Fortuny, Josep (2009). "A unique Middle Miocene European hominoid and the origins of the great ape and human clade". PNAS 106 (24): 9601–06. doi:10.1073/pnas.0811730106. PMC 2701031. PMID 19487676.  Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
Nakatsukasa, Masato; Kunimatsu, Yutaka (May–June 2009). "Nacholapithecus and its importance for understanding hominoid evolution". Evolutionary Anthropology 18 (3): 103–119. doi:10.1002/evan.20208. 
"Nacolapithecus". Paleobiology Database. 2012. Retrieved September 2012. 
Russon, Anne E.; Begun, David R., eds. (2004). The Evolution of Thought: Evolutionary Origins of Great Ape Intelligence. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521783354. 
Sawada, Yoshihiro; Saneyoshi, Mototaka; Nakayama, Katsuhiro; Sakai, Tetsuya; Itaya, Tetsumaru; Hyodo, Masayuki; Mukokya, Yogolelo; Pickford, Martin; Senut, Brigitte; Tanaka, Satoshi (2006). "The Ages and Geological Backgrounds of Miocene Hominoids Nacholapithecus, Samburupithecus, and Orrorin from Kenya". Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer. pp. 71–96. doi:10.1007/0-387-29798-7_6.  Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
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