Propliopithecoidea is a superfamily of

catarrhine The parvorder Catarrhini , catarrhine monkeys, Old World anthropoids, or Old World monkeys, consisting of the Cercopithecoidea and apes (Hominoidea). In 1812, Geoffroy grouped those two groups together and established the name Catarrhini, "Old ...

primate Primates are a diverse order (biology), order of mammals. They are divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include the Tarsiiformes, tarsiers and ...

s that inhabited Africa and Arabia during the

Early Oligocene The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two ages or the lower of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/ Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded by the Priabonian Stage (part of the Eocene) and is followed by the Chattia ...

about 32 to 29 million years ago. Fossils have been found in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

and

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. They are one of the earliest known families of catarrhines. They have a number of features in common with extant catarrhines, but also a number of features that are primitive and not found in later catarrhine families. There are five species, which are close enough that they can be viewed as a single genus. They have a body mass of 4–6 kg (6–8 kg for zeuxis), similar in size to modern

Howler monkey Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyteles''), the spider monkeys (''Atel ...

Species

'' Propliopithecus ankelae''
'' Propliopithecus chirobates''
'' Propliopithecus haeckeli''
'' Propliopithecus markgrafi'' aka '' Moeripithecus markgrafi''
~~Taqah Propliopithecid~~
''Propliopithecus zeuxis'' aka ''Aegyptopithecus zeuxis''

Classification controversy

Szalay & Delson (1979), Andrews (1985), Harrison (1987) and Begun (2012) argue that the high degree of similarity means they should be placed in a single genus. Herbert Thomas (1991), following examination of new material in Oman, argues for Moeripithecus markgrafi, citing 'striking differences in morphology' compared to Propliopithecus haeckeli. (Seiffert (2006) suggests that the fossils examined by Thomas might be better classified as "Propliopithecus ankeli"). Seiffert et al. (2010) argue for three genera -

Aegyptopithecus ''Aegyptopithecus'' ("Egyptian ape", from Greek ''Αίγυπτος'' "Egypt" and ''πίθηκος'' "ape") is an early fossil catarrhine that predates the divergence between hominoids ( apes) and cercopithecids (Old World monkeys). It is kno ...

, Moeripithecus and Propliopithecus The Taqah Propliopithecid appears more basal, and as such not be part of a ''Propliopithecus'' sensu stricto clade''.''

References

Prehistoric primates Catarrhini Mammal superfamilies {{paleo-primate-stub