Mesopithecus

Mesopithecus; Temporal range: Late Miocene–Late Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Skeleton
Conservation status
	Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Subfamily:	Colobinae
Genus:	Mesopithecus
Species
	M. pentelici;

Mesopithecus ("middle monkey") is an extinct genus of Old World monkey that lived in Europe and western Asia 7 to 5 million years ago. It was once thought that it might be an ancestor of the grey langur, but a more recent study^[1] suggests that they are more closely related to the snub-nosed monkeys and doucs.

Mesopithecus resembled a modern macaque, with a body length of about 40 centimetres (16 in). It was adapted to both walking and climbing, possessing a slender body with long, muscular limbs and flexible fingers. Its teeth suggest that it primarily ate soft leaves and fruit.^[2]

Paleobiology

References

^ Pan, Ruliang; Groves, Colin; Oxnard, Charles (2004). "Relationships Between the Fossil Colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus and Extant Cercopithecoids, Based on Dental Metrics" (PDF). American Journal of Primatology. 62 (4): 287–299. doi:10.1002/ajp.20022. PMID 15085533. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 289. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

External links

Rare Mesopithecus skull unearthed in Chalkidiki

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[1] Pan, Ruliang; Groves, Colin; Oxnard, Charles (2004). "Relationships Between the Fossil Colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus and Extant Cercopithecoids, Based on Dental Metrics" (PDF). American Journal of Primatology. 62 (4): 287–299. doi:10.1002/ajp.20022. PMID 15085533. Retrieved 2009-01-26.

[EoDP-2] Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 289. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

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