''Anoiapithecus'' is an extinct

ape Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...

genus 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 nom ...

thought to be closely related to '' Dryopithecus''. Both genera lived during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

, approximately 12 million years ago. Fossil specimens named by Salvador Moyà-Solà are known from the deposits from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

.. The discoverers described ''Anoiapithecus brevirostris'' as a

hominoid Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...

(superfamily

Hominoidea Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...

) in the dryopithecine tribe. They believe that it has more modern traits than the Kenyapithecines from which Kenya's '' Kenyapithecus wickeri'' brings fragmentary information. The African specimens are considered a sister taxon to the hominids, and 2 million years younger European specimens must be from the time after these two groups split. This means that hominids may have evolved in Europe. The name comes from the Anoia River region in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, where the fossil was found. It has been given the nickname ''Lluc'' (since it is a male individual). The name Lluc is the Catalan form of Luke, which in Latin suggests "light", as this discovery enlighted our early evolution. The modern anatomical features that characterized the family Hominidae visible in Lluc's fossil among others are: unique facial pattern for hominoids, nasal aperture wide at the base, high

cheek bone In the human skull, the zygomatic bone (from grc, ζῠγόν, zugón, yoke), also called cheekbone or malar bone, is a paired irregular bone which articulates with the maxilla, the temporal bone, the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone. It is si ...

, and deep palate.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q134825 Prehistoric apes Miocene primates of Europe Fossil taxa described in 2009 Fossils of Spain Prehistoric primate genera

See also

References