Pliopithecus


Pliopithecus

 

a genus of fossil anthropoid apes. The remains of the lower and upper jaws have been found in Miocene and Pliocene deposits in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Pliopithecus is considered to be the ancestor of extant gibbons but differs from them in a number of primitive characteristics. It is apparently descended from Propliopithecus. The first find of the most widely known species of ancient Pliopithecus was made in 1837 in Miocene deposits in France. The remains of two more species were subsequently found in Egypt and Mongolia.