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Kenyapithecus
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<h2 id="morphology">Morphology</h2> <p>Impressed by <i>Kenyapithecus</i>'s modern-looking teeth, Leakey declared <i>Kenyapithecus</i> to be "a very early ancestor of man himself."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p><i>Kenyapithecus</i> possessed craniodental <a href="/facts/Adaptation/5K2gNpDB">adaptations</a> for hard object feeding including thicker molar <a href="/facts/Tooth_enamel/ffUMmssl">enamel</a>, and a large <a href="/facts/Mandible/1ATEfAQa">mandible</a>, large <a href="/facts/Premolars/hSpMTu7a">premolars</a> and upper <a href="/facts/Incisors/GSvkE9Tg">incisors</a> that are similar to those seen in living <a href="/facts/Pitheciine/9BeoF3kj">pitheciine</a> monkeys.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> <i>Kenyapithecus</i> also possessed macaque-like <a href="/facts/Limb_(anatomy)/AqasUdSC">limbs</a> adapted for a <a href="/facts/Knuckle-walking/rLLl9NGU">knuckle-walking</a> mode of semi-terrestrial <a href="/facts/Animal_locomotion/trhhYTVR">locomotion</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> This could show that as <a href="/facts/Hominins/SflaMavS">hominins</a> evolved, they passed through a knuckle-walking phase. </p><p><i>Kenyapithecus wickeri</i> has very distinct features, especially details in the <a href="/facts/Canine_teeth/p3mRABtg">canine teeth</a> and is similar to modern apes. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/Chororapithecus/r46EWfcA">Chororapithecus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Dryopithecus/H8S3XtU7">Dryopithecus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Nakalipithecus/LzxttvMY">Nakalipithecus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Pierolapithecus/RFvsR7cn">Pierolapithecus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Samburupithecus/dXxJPwBl">Samburupithecus</a></i></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>L. S. B. Leakey: A new Lower Pliocene fossil primate from Kenya. In: The Annals & Magazine of Natural History, Vol. 4, Series 13, 1961, pp. 689–696 <a href="/wiki/Louis_Leakey" target="_blank">/wiki/Louis_Leakey</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Carl Zimmer: "Kenyan Skeleton Shakes Ape Family Tree". In: Science, August 27, 1999: Vol. 285. no. 5432, pp. 1335-1337 <a href="/wiki/Carl_Zimmer" target="_blank">/wiki/Carl_Zimmer</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Fleagle, J. G. (2013) Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Elsevier Academic Press <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=--PNXm0q2O8C&q=Kenyapithecus" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=--PNXm0q2O8C&q=Kenyapithecus</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>McCrossin ML, Benefit, BR Gitau, SN Palmer, AK Blue, KT. (1998) Fossil evidence for the origins of terrestriality among Old World higher primates. Primate locomotion: recent advances. New York: Plenum Press. p 353-396 <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brenda_Benefit/publication/263235097_Fossil_evidence_for_the_origins_of_terrestriality_among_Old_World_monkeys_and_apes/links/55ef92fd08ae199d47c01c6c/Fossil-evidence-for-the-origins-of-terrestriality-among-Old-World-monkeys-and-apes.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brenda_Benefit/publication/263235097_Fossil_evidence_for_the_origins_of_terrestriality_among_Old_World_monkeys_and_apes/links/55ef92fd08ae199d47c01c6c/Fossil-evidence-for-the-origins-of-terrestriality-among-Old-World-monkeys-and-apes.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>