Pierolapithecus

Pierolapithecus
Temporal range: Miocene,
Reconstruction of "Pierolapithecus catalaunicus"
Pierolapithecus catalaunicus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: incertae sedis
Genus: †Pierolapithecus
Moyà-Solà et al., 2004
Species:
†P. catalaunicus
Binomial name
†Pierolapithecus catalaunicus

Pierolapithecus catalaunicus is an extinct species of ape that lived during the Middle Miocene, about 13–12.5 million years ago, in Catalonia, Spain. Described in 2004 from a partial skeleton discovered near Els Hostalets de Pierola, it is represented by one of the most complete Miocene ape skeletons from Europe.

Pierolapithecus combined primitive features with orthograde adaptations, while lacking the elongated fingers characteristic of modern suspensory apes. Its anatomy has made it important in debates on the early evolution of great apes and the origins of orthograde locomotion. Its phylogenetic position remains disputed: some researchers regard Pierolapithecus as a basal member of Hominidae close to the common ancestor of living great apes, while others place it among the pongines or European Dryopithecini.

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