a genus of fossil anthropoid apes. Fragments of the lower and upper jaws and teeth were found in Miocene deposits in Asia in the Himalayan Siwaliks and in East Africa. The lower jaw of Sivapithecus was high and massive. The teeth resembled both human teeth and the teeth of anthropoid apes. They were similar to human teeth in that the premolars were small bicuspids and the molars were broad; like anthropoid apes, Sivapithecus had massive canines. Sivapithecus and dryopithecids are considered to be the ancestors of anthropoid apes, particularly orangutans.