Sivapithecus
Encyclopedia
Sivapithecus is a genus
of extinct primate
s. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.5 million to 8.5 million years old in the Miocene
, have been found since the 19th century in the Siwalik Hills
in what is now India
, Nepal
, and Pakistan
. Any one of the species in this genus may have been the ancestor to the modern orangutan
s.
, but its face was closer to that of an orangutan. The shape of its wrists and general body proportions suggest that it may have spent a significant amount of its time on the ground, as well as in trees. It had large canine teeth, and heavy molar
s, suggesting a diet of relatively tough food, such as seeds and savannah grasses.
The animal was about the size of a chimpanzee but had the facial morphology of an orangutan; it ate soft fruit (detected in the toothwear pattern) and was probably mainly arboreal.
In 1988 a third, significantly larger species was described and named S. parvada (dated at about 10 million years ago).
In 1982, David Pilbeam
published a description of a significant fossil find — a large part of the face and jaw of a Sivapithecus. The specimen bore many similarities to the orangutan
skull and strengthened the theory (previously suggested by others) that Sivapithecus was closely related to orangutans.
The first incomplete specimens of Ramapithecus were found in Nepal on the bank of Tinau River western part of the country in 1932. The finder (G. Edward Lewis) claimed that the jaw was more like a human's than any other fossil ape then known. In the 1960s this claim was revived. At that time, it was believed that the ancestors of humans had diverged from other apes 14 million years ago. Biochemical studies upset this view, suggesting that there was an early split between orangutan ancestors and the common ancestors of chimps, gorillas and humans.
Meanwhile, more complete specimens of Ramapithecus were found in 1975 and 1976, which showed that it was less human-like than had been thought. It began to look more and more like Sivapithecus - meaning that the older name must take priority. It could be that Ramapithecus was just the female form of Sivapithecus. They were definitely members of the same genus. It is also likely that they were already separate from the common ancestor of chimps, gorillas and humans, which may be represented by the prehistoric great ape, Nakalipithecus nakayamai
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of extinct primate
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
s. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.5 million to 8.5 million years old in the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
, have been found since the 19th century in the Siwalik Hills
Siwalik Hills
The Sivalik hills is a mountain range of the outer Himalayas also known as Manak Parbat in ancient times. Shivalik literally means 'tresses of Shiva’. This range is about long enclosing an area that starts almost from the Indus and ends close to the Brahmaputra, with a gap of about between the...
in what is now India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Any one of the species in this genus may have been the ancestor to the modern orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
s.
Description
Sivapithecus was about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in body length, similar in size to a modern orangutan. In most respects, it would have resembled a chimpanzeeChimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
, but its face was closer to that of an orangutan. The shape of its wrists and general body proportions suggest that it may have spent a significant amount of its time on the ground, as well as in trees. It had large canine teeth, and heavy molar
Molar (tooth)
Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. In many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, "millstone"....
s, suggesting a diet of relatively tough food, such as seeds and savannah grasses.
Species
Currently three species are generally recognized. Sivapithecus indicus fossils date from about 12.5 million to 10.5 million years ago. S. sivalensis lived from 9.5 million to 8.5 million years ago. It was found at the Pothowar plateau in Pakistan as well as in parts of India.The animal was about the size of a chimpanzee but had the facial morphology of an orangutan; it ate soft fruit (detected in the toothwear pattern) and was probably mainly arboreal.
In 1988 a third, significantly larger species was described and named S. parvada (dated at about 10 million years ago).
In 1982, David Pilbeam
David Pilbeam
David Pilbeam is the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University and curator of paleoanthropology at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He received his Ph.D...
published a description of a significant fossil find — a large part of the face and jaw of a Sivapithecus. The specimen bore many similarities to the orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
skull and strengthened the theory (previously suggested by others) that Sivapithecus was closely related to orangutans.
Ramapithecus
Siwalik specimens once assigned to the genus Ramapithecus are now considered by most researchers to belong to one or more species of Sivapithecus. Ramapithecus is no longer regarded as a likely ancestor of humans.The first incomplete specimens of Ramapithecus were found in Nepal on the bank of Tinau River western part of the country in 1932. The finder (G. Edward Lewis) claimed that the jaw was more like a human's than any other fossil ape then known. In the 1960s this claim was revived. At that time, it was believed that the ancestors of humans had diverged from other apes 14 million years ago. Biochemical studies upset this view, suggesting that there was an early split between orangutan ancestors and the common ancestors of chimps, gorillas and humans.
Meanwhile, more complete specimens of Ramapithecus were found in 1975 and 1976, which showed that it was less human-like than had been thought. It began to look more and more like Sivapithecus - meaning that the older name must take priority. It could be that Ramapithecus was just the female form of Sivapithecus. They were definitely members of the same genus. It is also likely that they were already separate from the common ancestor of chimps, gorillas and humans, which may be represented by the prehistoric great ape, Nakalipithecus nakayamai
Nakalipithecus nakayamai
Nakalipithecus nakayamai is a prehistoric great ape species that lived in today's Kenya region early in the Late Miocene, 10 million years ago . It is the type species of the new genus Nakalipithecus...
.
See also
- Ape#History of hominoid taxonomy
- Human evolutionary geneticsHuman evolutionary geneticsHuman evolutionary genetics studies how one human genome differs from the other, the evolutionary past that gave rise to it, and its current effects. Differences between genomes have anthropological, medical and forensic implications and applications...
- Griphopithecus
- KhoratpithecusKhoratpithecusKhoratpithecus is an extinct genus of primates that live during the late Miocene in Southeast Asia.There are three species belong to this genus:...
- LufengpithecusLufengpithecusLufengpithecus is a genus of extinct ape generally placed in the Ponginae subfamily.It contains three species: Lufengpithecus lufengensis, Lufengpithecus hudienensis and Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis....
External links
- Photo of the 1982 Sivapithecus skull ("GSP 15000")
- Ramapithecus. (2011). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/490510/Ramapithecus
- Sivapithecus. (2011). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/546964/Sivapithecus