Proteopithecidae is an extinct family of

primates Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

which lived in the

Priabonian The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage ...

(late

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

) and probably early

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

periods. Fossils that have been found are in the

Jebel Qatrani Formation The Jebel Qatrani Formation (also Gebel Qatrani) is a palaeontological and geologic formation located in the Faiyum Governorate of central Egypt. Conformably overlying the Qasr el Sagha Formation. It is exposed namely between the Jebel Qat ...

in Egypt. Currently two

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

are recognised, each with a single species, those being '' Proteopithecus sylviae'' and '' Serapia eocaena''.Seiffert, Erik & Simons, Elwyn & Fleagle, John & Godinot, Marc. (2010). Paleogene Anthropoids. pages 369-392. In 'Cenozoic Mammals of Africa' (editors Lars Wardelin and William Sanders) University of California Press 6 August 2010 ''Proteopithecus sylviae'' is unusual in having a large degree of sexual dimorphism of the canine teeth, which is unknown in extant primates of a similar (relatively small) size. It was

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose num ...

, probably diurnal, probably with a diet of fruit and insects. It weighed around 250 grams. It was the first Eocene anthropoid for which

postcrania Postcrania (postcranium, adjective: postcranial) in zoology and vertebrate paleontology is all or part of the skeleton apart from the skull. Frequently, fossil remains, e.g. of dinosaurs or other extinct tetrapods, consist of partial or isolated s ...

l remains were found. The hindlimbs are similar to those of platyrrhines and indicates an animal that would do a considerable amount of running and pronograde (four limbed) leaping.

Classification

Seiffert et al. (2010) note that Simons, the discoverer of ''Serapia'' originally placed it within the Parapithecidae, but in 2001 transferred ''Serapia'' to the Proteopithecidae, a view supported by Gunnell and Miller (2001), Beard (2002), and Seiffert et al. (2004 & 2005a). Kay and Williams (2013, edited by Feagle and Kay) continue to place ''Serapia'' in the parapithecidae as part of a proposed sub-family, Qatraniinae, alongside ''

Arsinoea ''Arsinoea'' is an extinct genus of primates of which there is one known species, ''Arsinoea kallimos''. ''Arsinoea kallimos'' from the late Eocene quarry L-41, Fayum Depression. References External links *Arsinoea kallimos' in the Paleobi ...

'' and '' Qatrania'' (they note these all share similar dental features to each other, but they are more primitive than other parapithecidae they also note that the similarity may be because of shared lineage rather than being closely related).Richard F. Kay, Blythe A Williams ''Anthropoid Origins: New Visions (Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects)'', Springer, 2013, page=409

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q33135758 Prehistoric primates Primate families Eocene first appearances Oligocene extinctions Prehistoric mammal families