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Dryopithecus fontani

Mammals

Dryopithecus fontani is the type species of Dryopithecus, an extinct great ape of Europe from the middle to late Miocene boundary, 12.5 to 11.1 million years ago. It is the only uncontested species of a genus that has been through taxonomic turmoil since its discovery in 1856. A male was estimated at 44 kilograms. It probably ate mostly ripe fruit from trees, with some hanging behaviour to reach it, although limb bones suggest much walking on all fours. The face resembled a gorilla, and males had longer canines than females. It lived in a seasonal, paratropical climate and probably built fat reserves for winter.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Frugivore 1
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 1
Living or Extinct
No 1
Conservation Status
Extinct 1
Body Size Band
Large 1
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Hominidae, Taxa
Source Hominidae (Wikipedia)

In Ecosystem

Forest, Ecosystems
Source Dryopithecus (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Dryopithecus (Wikipedia)Fossil sites
Quote, Fossil sites
Stefan, Carinthia, Austria 12.5 mya

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Dryopithecus (Wikipedia)Fossil sites
Quote, Fossil sites
An upper incisor, NMB G.a.9., and female upper molar, FSL 213981, come from Saint-Alban-de-Roche, France.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Dryopithecus (Wikipedia)Fossil sites
Quote, Fossil sites
A male partial face, IPS35026, and femur, IPS41724, from Vallès Penedès in Catalonia, Spain.
Sources
1. Dryopithecus (Wikipedia)
  • Lead, extinct status
    There is currently only one uncontested species, the type species D. fontani, though there may be more
  • Lead
    Dryopithecus likely predominantly ate ripe fruit from trees
  • Body size
    A male specimen was estimated to have weighed 44 kg (97 lb) in life.
  • Lead, system
    Dryopithecus is a genus of extinct great apes from the middle-late Miocene boundary of Europe
  • In Group: Primate Species, Lead, primate group
    There is currently only one uncontested species, the type species D. fontani, though there may be more
  • In Ecosystem: Forest, Habitat and environment
    Dryopithecus was a part of an adaptive radiation of great apes in the expanding forests of Europe
View the Source
Hominidae (Wikipedia)
Child Taxon Of: Hominidae, Phylogeny, Fossil list, Dryopithecus fontani
Quote, Child Taxon Of: Hominidae, Phylogeny, Fossil list, Dryopithecus fontani
In addition to the extant species and subspecies, archaeologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists have discovered and classified numerous extinct great ape species as below, based on the taxonomy shown.
View the Source
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