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Ouranopithecus
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<h2 id="description-and-systematics">Description and systematics</h2> <p>Based on <i>O. macedoniensis'</i> dental and facial <a href="/facts/Anatomy/p8TCWJuV">anatomy</a>, it has been suggested that <i>Ouranopithecus</i> was actually a <a href="/facts/Dryopithecini/fscPEYCg">dryopithecine</a>. However, it is probably more closely related to the <a href="/facts/Ponginae/yNL7ce6S">Ponginae</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> Some researchers consider <i>O. macedoniensis</i> to be the last common ancestor of humans (hominins) and the other apes,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> and a forerunner to <a href="/facts/Australopithecines/25g1CUJG">australopithecines</a> and humans,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> although this is very controversial and not widely accepted. It is true that <i>O. macedoniensis</i> shares derived features with some early <a href="/facts/Hominins/SflaMavS">hominins</a> (such as the frontal sinus, a cavity in the forehead), but they are almost certainly not closely related species.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>In 1984, British palaeontologists Peter Andrews and Lawrence B. Martin classified <i>Graecopithecus</i> and <i>Ouranopithecus</i> as synonyms (same taxon) and treated them as members of the genus <i><a href="/facts/Sivapithecus/oNX6KTrM">Sivapithecus</a>.</i><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> However, comparative analysis showed that there is not enough data to support the synonymy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p><p>When more <i>O. macedoniensis</i> fossils were discovered<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> including part of the skull in the 1990s,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> it became apparent that <i>O. macedoniensis</i> and <i>G. freybergi</i> are distinct species. In the light of new data, in 1997, Australian palaeontologist David W. Cameron treated <i>Graecopithecus</i> as a valid genus based on taxonomic <a href="/facts/Principle_of_priority/bfHpKEDK">priority</a> and renamed <i>O. macedoniensis</i> as <i>Graecopithecus macedoniensis.</i><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> However, better <i>O. macedoniensis</i> specimens were found<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> including a new species <i><a href="/facts/Ouranopithecus_turkae/tLsPYzlL">Ouranopithecus turkae</a></i> from Turkey<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> that warranted separation of the genus. </p><p>In addition, a meticulous re-description of <i>Graecopithecus</i> specimens in 2017 further evidenced that <i>Graecopithecus</i> is more related to humans than to apes,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> while <i>Ouranopithecus</i> specimens have strict ape-like characters. Separate genus are therefore continued to be generally adopted.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Anoiapithecus/oE4lf3cn"><i>Anoiapithecus</i></a> – Extinct genus of ape from the Miocene</li> <li><a href="/facts/Chororapithecus/r46EWfcA"><i>Chororapithecus</i></a> – Extinct hominine genus from the Miocene</li> <li><a href="/facts/Dryopithecus/H8S3XtU7"><i>Dryopithecus</i></a> – Extinct great ape from Europe</li> <li><a href="/facts/Nakalipithecus/LzxttvMY"><i>Nakalipithecus</i></a> – Extinct species of ape</li> <li><a href="/facts/Pierolapithecus/RFvsR7cn"><i>Pierolapithecus</i></a> – Extinct species of ape from Miocene Europe</li> <li><a href="/facts/Samburupithecus/dXxJPwBl"><i>Samburupithecus</i></a> – Extinct genus of primate from Miocene Kenya</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ouranopithecus. <ul><li><a href="http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-evolution-timeline-interactive">Human Timeline (Interactive)</a> – <a href="/facts/Smithsonian_Institution/pqC74ta9">Smithsonian</a>, <a href="/facts/National_Museum_of_Natural_History/nn6mUbfE">National Museum of Natural History</a> (August 2016).</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>de Bonis, Louis; Melentis, J (1977). "Les primates hominoides du Vallésien de Macédoine (Grèce). Étude de la machoire inférieure". Geobios. 10 (6): 849–855. Bibcode:1977Geobi..10..849D. doi:10.1016/s0016-6995(77)80081-8. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Gulec, Erksin S.; et al. (2007). "A new great ape from the lower Miocene of Turkey". Anthropological Science. 115 (2): 153–158. doi:10.1537/ase.070501. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1537%2Fase.070501" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1537%2Fase.070501</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>de Bonis, Louis; Melentis, Jean (1977). "Les primates hominoides du Vallésien de Macédoine (Grèce). Étude de la machoire inférieure". Geobios. 10 (6): 849–885. Bibcode:1977Geobi..10..849D. doi:10.1016/S0016-6995(77)80081-8. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Gulec, Erksin S.; et al. (2007). "A new great ape from the lower Miocene of Turkey". Anthropological Science. 115 (2): 153–158. doi:10.1537/ase.070501. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1537%2Fase.070501" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1537%2Fase.070501</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Martin, L.B.; Andrews, P. (1984). "The phyletic position of Graecopithecus freybergi Koenigswald". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. 69: 25–40. <a href="https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10016064903/" target="_blank">https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10016064903/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Alba, D.M.; Fortuny, J.; Moya-Sola, S.; et al. (2010). "Enamel thickness in the middle Miocene great apes Anoiapithecus, Picrolapithecus and Dryopithecus". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 277 (1691): 2237–2245. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0218. PMC 2880156. PMID 20335211. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2880156" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2880156</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Begun, David R. (2005). "Relations among great apes and humans: New interpretations based on the fossil great ape Dryopithecus". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 37: 11–63. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330370604. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fajpa.1330370604" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fajpa.1330370604</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>de Bonis, Louis; et al. (1990). "New hominoid skull material from the late Miocene of Macedonia in Northern Greece". Nature. 345 (6277): 712–4. Bibcode:1990Natur.345..712D. doi:10.1038/345712a0. PMID 2193230. S2CID 4259387. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>de Bonis, Louis; Koufos, George D. (2004). "Ouranopithecus and dating the splitting of extant hominoids". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 3 (4): 257–264. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2004.04.002. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>de Bonis, Louis; et al. (1981). "Dental metric variation in early Hominids comparison between Australopithecus afarensis and Ouranopithecus macedoniensis". Comptes Rendus des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences. Serie III Sciences de la Vie. 292: 263–266. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Martin, L.B.; Andrews, P. (1984). "The phyletic position of Graecopithecus freybergi Koenigswald". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. 69: 25–40. <a href="https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10016064903/" target="_blank">https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10016064903/</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Andrews, Martin L. (1984). "The phylogenetic position of Graeceopithecus freybergi Koenigswald". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. 69: 25–40. <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Koufos, George D.; de Bonis, Louis (2005). "The late Miocene Hominoids Ouranopithecus and Graeceopithecus. Implications about their relationships and taxonomy". Annales de Paléontologie. 91 (3): 227–240. Bibcode:2005AnPal..91..227K. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2005.05.001. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Koufos, G. D. (1993). "Mandible of Ouranopithecus macedoniensis (Hominidae, Primates) from a new late miocene locality of Macedonia (Greece)". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 91 (2): 225–234. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330910208. PMID 8317563. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8317563" target="_blank">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8317563</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>de Bonis, L.; Bouvrain, G.; Geraads, D.; Koufos, G. (1990). "New hominid skull material from the late Miocene of Macedonia in northern Greece". Nature. 345 (6277): 712–714. Bibcode:1990Natur.345..712D. doi:10.1038/345712a0. PMID 2193230. S2CID 4259387. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2193230" target="_blank">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2193230</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Cameron, David W. (1997). "The taxonomic status of Graecopithecus". Primates. 38 (3): 293–302. doi:10.1007/BF02381616. S2CID 28982498. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381616" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381616</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Cameron, D. W. (1997). "A revised systematic scheme for the Eurasian Miocene fossil Hominidae". Journal of Human Evolution. 33 (4): 449–477. Bibcode:1997JHumE..33..449C. doi:10.1006/jhev.1997.0145. PMID 9361253. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9361253" target="_blank">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9361253</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Ioannidou, Melania; Koufos, George D.; de Bonis, Louis; Harvati, Katerina (2019). "A new three-dimensional geometric morphometrics analysis of the Ouranopithecus macedoniensis cranium (Late Miocene, Central Macedonia, Greece)". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 170 (2): 295–307. doi:10.1002/ajpa.23900. PMID 31339568. 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