Proconsu lZICA. ''Proconsul major'', an extinct

primate 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 including huma ...

of the genus ''Proconsul'', was possibly the ancestor of '' Afropithecus'' and showed

hominid The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the east ...

characteristics. It occurred during the early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first 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 means "less recen ...

and was roughly, the size of a

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

. The species previously referred to as ''Ugandapithecus major'' is now considered to be a synonym of ''Proconsul major''. Prior to 2000 it was known as ''Proconsul major'' and some argue against the renaming. ''Proconsul major'' lived on the

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

in the region around Moroto,

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. Based upon dental

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

, ''Proconsul major'' was a

frugivorous A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

Morphology

''Proconsul major'' had a typical primate dental formula of . The

canines Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae ** ''Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Dog, the domestic dog * Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy People with the surn ...

are sexually dimorphic. The inferior transverse torus is absent and the superior transverse torus is well-developed in ''Proconsul major''. This species had an average body mass of around .

Fossil finds

A nearly complete fossilized ''P. major'' skull estimated to be 20 million years old was found at the

Napak Napak is a town in Northern Uganda. It is the commercial, administrative and municipal headquarters of Napak District. The district is named after the town. Location The town is situated approximately , southwest of Moroto, the largest town in K ...

XV site near Iriri on the slope of the extinct Napak Volcano in July 2011 by a team led by Martin Pickford and

Brigitte Senut Brigitte Senut (27 January 1954, Paris) is a French paleoprimatologist and paleoanthropologist and a professor at the National Museum of Natural History, Paris. She is a specialist in the evolution of great apes and humans. Life and work Senu ...

. After a year of cleaning, documentation and reconstruction in Paris, the skull fragments are now on display in the

Uganda Museum The Uganda Museum is located in Kampala, Uganda. It displays and exhibits ethnological, natural-historical and traditional life collections of Uganda's cultural heritage. It was founded in 1908, after Governor George Wilson called for "all articl ...

in Kampala. Previously, only smaller pieces of younger fossils had been found at Napak and at the Moroto I site near Loitakero.

References

External links

Proconsul major
Noel T. Boaz

Prehistoric apes Fossil taxa described in 1950 Miocene primates of Africa {{paleo-primate-stub