Lufengpithecus Temporal range:
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A lower jaw fossil collected in Yunnan Provincial Museum | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Family: | Hominidae |
Tribe: | †Lufengpithecini |
Genus: | †Lufengpithecus Wu, 1987 |
Species | |
Synonyms | |
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Lufengpithecus (lit. 'Lufeng ape') is an extinct genus of ape, known from the Late Miocene of East Asia. It is known from thousands of dental remains and a few skulls and probably weighed about 50 kg (110 lb).[1] It contains three species: L. lufengensis, L. hudienensis and L. keiyuanensis. Lufengpithecus lufengensis is from the Late Miocene found in China,[2] named after the Lufeng site[2] and dated around 6.2 Ma.[3] Lufengpithecus is either thought to be the sister group to Ponginae, or the sister to the clade containing Ponginae and Homininae.[4]