Aegyptopithecus

Name: Aegyptopithecus ‭(‬Egypt age‭).
Phonetic: Ay-gyp-toe-pif-e-kus.
Named By: E.‭ S‬imons‭ ‬-‭ ‬1965.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Primates,‭ ‬Haplorrhini,‭ ‬Propliopithecoidea,‭ ‬Propliopithecidae.
Species: A.‭ ‬zeuxis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Frugivore.
Size: Weight estimated at around‭ ‬6.7‭ ‬kilograms.
Known locations: Egypt,‭ ‬Fayum Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Jebel Qatrani Formation.
Time period: Rupelian of the Oligocene.
Fossil representation: Many specimens.

       Although usually regarded as its own genus,‭ ‬there is on-going debate over how Aegyptopithecus might actually be the same primate as Propliopithecus.‭ ‬If this eventually does happen then material that has been named Aegyptopithecus will be re-named Propliopithecus.‭
       Aegyptopithecus is thought to have been a frugivore,‭ ‬a herbivorous creature that specialises in eating fruit.‭ ‬However there is also evidence to suggest that Aegyptopithecus would also occasionally eat tougher plant parts,‭ ‬perhaps as a result of a lack of its preferred food.‭ ‬As is common in primates,‭ ‬the canine teeth of male Aegyptopithecus are larger than those of females,‭ ‬a clear sign of sexual dimorphism with the enlarged canines serving as display and potential weapons between competing males.‭ ‬Due to its dietary preference and size,‭ ‬Aegyptopithecus is seen to have been an arboreal creature that lived in the tree canopies of Oligocene era Egypt.‭ ‬It might be hard to imagine this kind of habitat in Egypt today,‭ ‬but the desertification of this country and other regions of North Africa is actually a very recent occurrence when go‭ ‬you‭ ‬by a geological time scale.




Further reading
- New fossil apes from Egypt and the initial differentiation of Hominoidea. - Nature 205:135-139. - E. L. Simons - 1965.
- The Humerus of Aegyptopithecus zeuxis: A Primitive Anthropoid. - American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 59 (2): 175–193. - John G. Fleagle & Elwyn L. Simons - 1982.
- Dental Microwear and Microstructure in Early Oligocene Primates From the Fayum, Egypt: Implications for Diet. - American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 101 (4): 527–543. - Mark F. Telford, Mary C. Maas & Elwyn L. Simons - 1996.
- Femoral Anatomy of Aegyptopithecus zeuxis, An Early Oligocene Anthropoid. - American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 106 (4): 413–424. - Ankel-Simons, Friderun; John G. Fleagle & Prithijit S. Chatrath - 1998.
- Revised age estimates for the later Paleogene mammal faunas of Egypt and Oman. - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 103 (13): 5000–5005. - Erik R. Seiffert - 2006.
- A remarkable female cranium of the early Oligocene anthropoid Aegyptopithecus zeuxis (Catarrhini, Propliopithecidae). - PNAS. 104 (21): 8731–8736. - A remarkable female cranium of the early Oligocene anthropoid Aegyptopithecus zeuxis (Catarrhini, Propliopithecidae)". PNAS. 104 (21): 8731–8736. Simons, Erik R. Seiffert, Timothy M. Ryan & Yousry Attia - 2007.



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