Athena Review Image Archive ™
Mesopithecus pentelicus skulls
Male and female skulls of Mesopithecus pentelicus (Mus.Capellini Bologna, casts)
Mesopithecus
("middle monkey") was a Late Miocene Old World monkey (Cercopithecoid)
living in Europe and western Asia 7-5 mya. Once considered a possible
ancestor of the grey langur, a more recent study by Pan et al. (2004)
suggests that they are more closely related to the snub-nosed monkeys
and doucs.
Mesopithecus pentelicus had a body length of about 40 cm (16 in), with considerable sexual dimorphism beween males and females in body and skull sizes. It had a slender body with long, muscular limbs and flexible fingers, and was well adapted to both walking and climbing. Its teeth suggest that it primarily ate soft leaves and fruit. It is thought to have resembled a modern macaque or colubine monkey.
References:
Pan, Ruliang; C. Groves,and C. Oxnard 2004. Relationships Between the Fossil Colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus and Extant Cercopithecoids, Based on Dental Metrics. American Journal of Primatology. 62 (4): 287–299.
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