''Mesopithecus'' ("middle monkey" for being between ''
Hylobates'' and ''
Semnopithecus'' in build) is an extinct genus of
Old World monkey
Old World monkey is the common English name for a family of primates known taxonomically as the Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons ...
that lived in Europe and Asia 7 to 5 million years ago.
''Mesopithecus'' resembled a modern
macaque, with a body length of about . It was adapted to both walking and climbing, possessing a slender body with long, muscular limbs and flexible
finger
A finger is a limb of the body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of most of the Tetrapods, so also with humans and other primates. Most land vertebrates have five fingers (Pentadactyly). Chambers 1 ...
s. Its teeth suggest that it primarily ate soft leaves and fruit.
It was once thought that these extinct monkeys might be an ancestor of the
grey langur, but a study in 2004
suggested that they are more closely related to the
snub-nosed monkeys and
doucs.
Gallery
Mesopithecus pentelici.JPG, ''Mesopithecus pentelici'' skulls
Les ancêtres de nos animaux dans les temps géologiques (Page 115, Fig. 31) white background.jpg, Skeletal restoration
References
External links
Rare Mesopithecus skull unearthed in Chalkidiki
Prehistoric monkeys
Miocene primates of Europe
Pliocene primates
Miocene primates of Asia
Prehistoric primate genera
Prehistoric mammals of Europe
Fossil taxa described in 1839
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