Dendropithecidae

Dendropithecidae; Temporal range: Early Miocene PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Parvorder:	Catarrhini
Superfamily:	Dendropithecoidea
Family:	Dendropithecidae
Genera
	Dendropithecus; Micropithecus; Simiolus

The family Dendropithecidae is an family of fossil catarrhines and the only known members of the Dendropithecoidea superfamily. They date from the Early Miocene, around 20 - 17 million years ago.^[1]

Fossils of the two Dendropithecus species, Dendropithecus macinnesi and Dendropithecus ugandensis, have been found in East Africa, including several partial skeletons of Dendropithecus macinnesi on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria. Other species are Simiolus andrewsi, Simiolus cheptumoae, Simiolus enjiessi, Micropithecus clarki and Micropithecus leakeyorum.^[1]

Description

The taxa included in Dendropithecoidea (and by extension Dendropithecidae, as it is the only family currently placed in this superfamily) possess the following traits:^[2]

Upper and lower canines strongly bilaterally compressed
P₃ moderately to strongly specialized for sectoriality
Slender limb bones
Humerus with a relatively straight shaft
Medial epicondyle of the humerus is large and medially directed
Epitrochlear fossa is well developed
Zona conoidea is broad and shallow
Trochlear articular surface exhibits minimal spooling
Olecranon fossa is shallow

Upon creating this designation, Harrison^[2] noted that many of the characters that unite the clade may be primitive for catarrhines, allowing for the possibility that the dendropithecoids are a paraphyletic group.

References

1 2 Harrison, T. (2013). "Catarrhine Origins". In Begun, D. R. A Companion To Paleoanthropology. Wiley Blackwell. p. 376-396. ISBN 978-1-118-33237-5. Archived from the original on 2013.
1 2 Harrison, T. (2002). "Late Oligocene to middle Miocene catarrhines from Afro-Arabia". In Hartwig, W. C. The Primate Fossil Record. Cambridge University Press. p. 311-338.

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[Begun2012-1] 1 2 Harrison, T. (2013). "Catarrhine Origins". In Begun, D. R. A Companion To Paleoanthropology. Wiley Blackwell. p. 376-396. ISBN 978-1-118-33237-5. Archived from the original on 2013.

[Harrison2002-2] 1 2 Harrison, T. (2002). "Late Oligocene to middle Miocene catarrhines from Afro-Arabia". In Hartwig, W. C. The Primate Fossil Record. Cambridge University Press. p. 311-338.