First record of a parapithecid primate from the Oligocene of Kenya

Recent excavations in northwestern Kenya have recovered a vertebrate fauna of late early or early late Oligocene age. Among the mammal remains, a fragmentary lower jaw and an isolated upper molar have been attributed to a small primate, Lokonepithecus manai gen. et sp. nov. Lokonepithecus is a primi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of human evolution 2011-09, Vol.61 (3), p.327-331
Main Authors: Ducrocq, Stéphane, Manthi, Fredrick Kyalo, Lihoreau, Fabrice
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anthropoidea
Anthropoids
Archaeological sites
Biological Evolution
Catarrhini - anatomy & histology
Catarrhini - classification
Earth Sciences
Earth, ocean, space
East Africa
Evolutionary anthropology
Exact sciences and technology
Fauna
Fossils
Jaw - anatomy & histology
Kenya
Mammals
Molar - anatomy & histology
Paleogene
Paleontology
Parapithecidae
Phylogeny
Primates
Sciences of the Universe
Stratigraphy
Vertebrate paleontology
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Summary:Recent excavations in northwestern Kenya have recovered a vertebrate fauna of late early or early late Oligocene age. Among the mammal remains, a fragmentary lower jaw and an isolated upper molar have been attributed to a small primate, Lokonepithecus manai gen. et sp. nov. Lokonepithecus is a primitive member of the Parapithecidae and possibly most closely related to Apidium from the Fayum. The new primate from Kenya is the youngest parapithecid known and its occurrence in the Oligocene of Kenya suggests that sub-Saharan Africa probably played a major role in the evolutionary history of several groups of mammals.
ISSN:0047-2484
1095-8606
DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.04.011