''Propliopithecus'' is an extinct

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 n ...

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 ...

. The 40 cm (1 ft 4 in) long creature resembled today's

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast Indi ...

s. Its

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

s faced forwards, giving it stereoscopical vision. ''Propliopithecus'' was most likely an

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

. It is possible that ''Propliopithecus'' is the same creature as ''

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 ...

''. If that would be the case the name ''Propliopithecus'' would take precedence over ''Aegyptopithecus'' according to

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the Int ...

rules, because it was coined earlier.

Human-like dental features

''Propliopithecus'' had small canine teeth, lacked spaces to fit the canine teeth of the other jaw into, and had molars very similar to those of ''

Australopithecus ''Australopithecus'' (, ; ) is a genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genus ''Homo'' (which includes modern humans) emerged within ''Australopithecus'', as sister to e.g. ''Austral ...

''. These features set ''Propliopithecus'' apart from ''

'', which had big canine teeth along with other more normal simian dental features.Bjorn Kurten: The age of mammals

References

Oligocene primates Prehistoric apes Fossil taxa described in 1910 Prehistoric primate genera Oligocene mammals of Africa {{paleo-primate-stub