Theropithecus

Theropithecus
Temporal range: Pliocene-Recent 4.1–0 Ma
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Male gelada
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Cercopithecidae
Subfamily: Cercopithecinae
Tribe: Papionini
Genus: Theropithecus
I. Geoffroy, 1843
Type species
Theropithecus gelada
(Rüppell, 1835)
Species

See text

Theropithecus is a genus of primates in the family Cercopithecidae. It contains a single living species, the gelada (Theropithecus gelada), native to the Ethiopian Highlands.

Additional species are known from fossils, including:

The earliest remains probably belonging to the genus are from Kanapoi, Kenya, dating to the early Pliocene, around 4.1-4.2 million years ago.[2]

Although most remains are known from Africa,[2] during the Early Pleistocene the genus had a broader distribution ranging from southern Europe, including Spain[4] and possibly Italy,[5] to the Indian subcontinent.[6]

  1. ^ Turner, Alan; Antón, Mauricio (2004). Evolving Eden, An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large-Mammal Fauna. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 55.
  2. ^ a b c Getahun, D. A., Delson, E., & Seyoum, C. M. (2023). A review of Theropithecus oswaldi with the proposal of a new subspecies. Journal of human evolution, 180, 103373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103373
  3. ^ "The Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  4. ^ Ferràndez-Cañadell, Carles; Ribot, Francesc; Gibert, Lluís (September 2014). "New fossil teeth of Theropithecus oswaldi (Cercopithecoidea) from the Early Pleistocene at Cueva Victoria (SE Spain)". Journal of Human Evolution. 74: 55–66. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.02.020.
  5. ^ Patel, Biren A.; Gilbert, Christopher C.; Ericson, Kristin E. (February 2007). "Cercopithecoid cervical vertebral morphology and implications for the presence of Theropithecus in early Pleistocene Europe". Journal of Human Evolution. 52 (2): 113–129. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.07.014.
  6. ^ Patnaik, Rajeev; Cerling, Thure E.; Uno, Kevin T.; Fleagle, John G. (April 2014). "Diet and Habitat of Siwalik Primates Indopithecus, Sivaladapis and Theropithecus". Annales Zoologici Fennici. 51 (1–2): 123–142. doi:10.5735/086.051.0214. ISSN 0003-455X.