Anthropological Science
Online ISSN : 1348-8570
Print ISSN : 0918-7960
ISSN-L : 0918-7960
Original Articles
A new great ape from the late Miocene of Turkey
ERKSIN SAVAS GÜLEÇAYLA SEVIMCESUR PEHLEVANFERHAT KAYA
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2007 Volume 115 Issue 2 Pages 153-158

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Abstract

An adult maxilla and partial mandibles of a hominoid primate recovered from the late Miocene locality of Çorakyerler (central Anatolia) are recognized as a new species of Ouranopithecus, one of the rare western Eurasian hominoids to have survived well into the late Miocene. This species is distinguished from its sister taxon, and likely ancestor Ouranopithecus macedoniensis, by a constellation of dentognathic features. The new species, in which the male postcanine dentition is larger than that of any other Miocene ape besides Gigantopithecus, is associated with evidence indicating an open, dry environment. Dental features of Ouranopithecus apparently evolved in parallel with later Australopithecus, and suggest that Ouranopithecus was adapted to a diet of tough/abrasive foods.

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© 2007 The Anthropological Society of Nippon
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