Nacholapithecus

Nacholapithecus is a Middle Miocene genus of hominoid found in the Nachola formation in northern Kenya. It is a key genus in early hominid evolution. Similar in body plan to Proconsul, it had a long vertebral column with six lumbar vertebrae, no tail, a narrow torso, large upper limbs with mobile shoulder joints, and long feet.[1]

Nacholapithecus
Temporal range: middle Miocene
↓
Nacholapithecus kerioi at the Kyoto University Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: †Proconsulidae
Genus: †Nacholapithecus
Ishida, Kunimatsu, Nakatsukasa & Nakano, 1999
Species
  • †Nacholapithecus kerioi
  • †Nacholapithecus wickeri

Together with other Kenyapithecinae such as Equatorius, Kenyapithecus, and Griphopithecus, Nacholapithecus displayed synapomorphies with Anoiapithecus.[2]

Taxonomy

Nacholapithecus was initially classified as belonging in Kenyapithecus,[3] then attributed[4] to Equatorius (with Equatorius perhaps grouped into a sub-family Equatorinae, instead of both species in Afropithecini[5][6]), finally recognised as a separate genus (Ishida et al 1999).[7][8] Classified perhaps as a member of the family Proconsulidae.[9][10]

Nacholapithecus kerioi

Nacholapithecus kerioi is a hominoid known from the Aka Aiteputh Formation, in Nachola, Northern Kenya.[11]

Formation

The formation is largely part of the north-western rift flank overlying the Nachola Formation,[12] part of the Neogene system (Samburu).[13]

Notes
  1. Henke & Hardt 2007, p. 1020
  2. Moyà-Solà et al. 2009
  3. Ishida et al 1984
  4. Ward et al. 1999
  5. Cameron 2004
  6. Cameron 2004, p. 101
  7. Russon & Begun 2004, p. 305
  8. Ishida et al. 2004, Abstract
  9. I. S. Zalmout et al 2010
  10. Paleodb 2012
  11. Nakatsukasa & Kunimatsu 2009, Abstract
  12. Ishida et al. 2006, p. 74
  13. Sawada et al. 2006

References
  • Cameron, David W. (2004). Hominid Adaptations and Extinctions. UNSW Press. ISBN 9780868407166.
  • Henke, Winfried; Hardt, Thorolf (29 May 2007). Handbook of paleoanthropology. Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-32474-4.
  • Ishida, H; Kunimatsu, Y; Takano, T; Nakano, Y; Nakatsukasa, M (January 2004). "Nacholapithecus skeleton from the Middle Miocene of Kenya". J Hum Evol. 46 (1): 69–103. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2003.10.001. PMID 14698685.
  • Ishida, Hidemi; Tuttle, Russell; Pickford, Martin; Ogihara, Naomichi; Nakatsukasa, Masato (2006). Ishida, Hidemi; Tuttle, Russell; Pickford, Martin; Ogihara, Naomichi; Nakatsukasa, Masato (eds.). Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer. ISBN 9780387296388.
  • Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Alba, David M; Almécija, Sergio; Casanovas-Vilar, Isaac; Köhler, Meike; de Esteban-Trivigno, Soledad; Robles, Josep M; Galindo, Jordi; Fortuny, Josep (2009). "A unique Middle Miocene European hominoid and the origins of the great ape and human clade". PNAS. 106 (24): 9601–06. Bibcode:2009PNAS..106.9601M. doi:10.1073/pnas.0811730106. PMC 2701031. PMID 19487676.
  • Nakatsukasa, Masato; Kunimatsu, Yutaka (May–June 2009). "Nacholapithecus and its importance for understanding hominoid evolution". Evolutionary Anthropology. 18 (3): 103–119. doi:10.1002/evan.20208. S2CID 84530387.
  • "Nacolapithecus". Paleobiology Database. 2012. Retrieved September 2012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  • Russon, Anne E.; Begun, David R. (2004). Russon, Anne E.; Begun, David R. (eds.). The Evolution of Thought: Evolutionary Origins of Great Ape Intelligence. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521783354.
  • Sawada, Yoshihiro; Saneyoshi, Mototaka; Nakayama, Katsuhiro; Sakai, Tetsuya; Itaya, Tetsumaru; Hyodo, Masayuki; Mukokya, Yogolelo; Pickford, Martin; Senut, Brigitte; Tanaka, Satoshi (2006). "The Ages and Geological Backgrounds of Miocene Hominoids Nacholapithecus, Samburupithecus, and Orrorin from Kenya". Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer. pp. 71–96. doi:10.1007/0-387-29798-7_6. ISBN 978-0-387-29638-8.
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