''Ouranopithecus macedoniensis'' is a prehistoric

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of ''

Ouranopithecus ''Ouranopithecus'' is a genus of extinct Eurasian great ape represented by two species, '' Ouranopithecus macedoniensis'', a late Miocene (9.6–8.7 mya) hominoid from Greece and '' Ouranopithecus turkae'', also from the late Miocene (8.7–7.4 ...

'' from the

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. This species is known from three localities in

Northern Greece Northern Greece () is used to refer to the northern parts of Greece, and can have various definitions. Administrative term The term "Northern Greece" is widely used to refer mainly to the two northern regions of Macedonia and (Western) Thra ...

. The first specimen of ''Ouranopithecus macedoniensis'' with upper deciduous teeth is described from the Ravin de la Pluie locality in

Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...

Valley. The other localities are

Chalkidiki Chalkidiki (; , alternatively Halkidiki), also known as Chalcidice, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos reg ...

and Xirochori. It is known from a large collection of cranial fossils and few postcranial. The material has been dated to the late Miocene 9.6–8.7 million years old, so slightly earlier than '' O. turkae''. To some, this suggests ''O. turkae'' is the direct descendant of ''O. macedoniensis'', although it is generally accepted that they are sister

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

Etymology

The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''macedoniensis'' is due to the holotype fossil's discovery location in Macedonia, Greece.

Habitat

Examination of dental remains of ''O. macedoniensis'' and associated bovid species indicate a habitat of low tree cover and a rich

herbaceous layer In ecology, stratification refers to the vertical layering of a habitat; the arrangement of vegetation in layers. It classifies the layers (sing. ''stratum'', pl. ''strata'') of vegetation largely according to the different heights to which their p ...

Morphology

''O. macedoniensis'' had a large, broad face with a prominent supraorbital

torus In geometry, a torus (: tori or toruses) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space one full revolution about an axis that is coplanarity, coplanar with the circle. The main types of toruses inclu ...

. It also had square-shaped orbits. ''O. macedoniensis'' may have had a relatively large body size. The postcranial evidence is thin, but the dentition of ''O. macedoniensis'' suggests extreme sexual dimorphism, a far higher degree than that seen in any extant great ape. The ape was probably a quadruped. It is not possible to postulate on how ''O. macedoniensis'' used the trees but it seems likely that it did. ''O. macedoniensiss molar enamel cover was fairly thick and had low cusps. The

male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

''O. macedoniensis'' had large

canine teeth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. In the context of the upper jaw, they are also known as '' fangs''. They can appear more fl ...

with shearing lower

premolar The premolars, also called premolar Tooth (human), teeth, or bicuspids, are transitional teeth located between the Canine tooth, canine and Molar (tooth), molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per dental terminology#Quadrant, quadrant in ...

Diet

Based on the heavily pitted surface of the second molar of ''Ouranopithecus macedoniensis'', it is assumed that its diet consisted of harder foods such as

nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...

tubers Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reprod ...

Behaviour

Behaviour is very difficult to infer in species with such a small diversity of fossil remains. The large body size may have made climbing difficult in some aspects so it may have been a terrestrial forager but this is speculation within the literature.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q140198 Hominidae Miocene primates of Europe Prehistoric apes Fossil taxa described in 1977 Prehistoric Greece