Nacholapithecus kerioi was an
ape that lived 14-15 million years ago[1] during the Middle
Miocene. Fossils have been found in the Nachola formation in northern
Kenya. The only member of the genus Nacholapithecus, it is thought to be a key genus in early
hominid evolution. Similar in body plan to Proconsul, it had a long vertebral column with six lumbar vertebrae, no tail, a narrow torso, large upper limbs with mobile shoulder joints, and long feet.[2]
Nacholapithecus was initially classified as belonging in Kenyapithecus,[4] then attributed[5] to Equatorius (with Equatorius perhaps grouped into a subfamily Equatorinae, instead of both species in Afropithecini),[6][7] finally recognised by Ishida et al. (1999) as a separate genus.[8][9][10] Classified perhaps as a member of the family
Proconsulidae.[11]
Fossil finds
Nacholapithecus kerioi is known from the lowest part of the Aka Aiteputh Formation, one of five formations in the Neogene System in Nachola,
Samburu District, northern Kenya.[12][13] The formation is largely part of the north-western rift flank overlying the Nachola Formation.[14]
Ishida, H.; Pichford, M.; Nakaya, H.; Nakano, Y. (1984). "Fossil anthropoids from Nachola and Samburu Hills, Samburu District, Kenya". African Study Monographs. Supplementary Issue. 2 (2): 73–85.
doi:
10.14989/68314.
Ishida, H.; Kunimatsu, Y.; Takano, T.; Nakano, Y.; Nakatsukasa, M. (2004). "Nacholapithecus skeleton from the Middle Miocene of Kenya". Journal of Human Evolution. 46 (1): 69–103.
doi:
10.1016/j.jhevol.2003.10.001.
PMID14698685.
Ishida, H.; Tuttle, R.; Pickford, M.; Ogihara, N.; Nakatsukasa, M. (2006). Ishida, H.; Tuttle, R.; Pickford, M.; Ogihara, N.; Nakatsukasa, M. (eds.).
Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer.
ISBN9780387296388.
Nakatsukasa, M.; Kunimatsu, Y. (May–June 2009). "Nacholapithecus and its importance for understanding hominoid evolution". Evolutionary Anthropology. 18 (3): 103–119.
doi:
10.1002/evan.20208.
S2CID84530387.
Sawada, Y.; Saneyoshi, M.; Nakayama, K.; Sakai, T.; Itaya, T.; Hyodo, M.; Mukokya, Y.; Pickford, M.; Senut, B.; Tanaka, S. (2006). "The Ages and Geological Backgrounds of Miocene Hominoids Nacholapithecus, Samburupithecus, and Orrorin from Kenya". Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer. pp. 71–96.
doi:
10.1007/0-387-29798-7_6.
ISBN978-0-387-29638-8.
Ward, S.; Brown, B.; Hill, A.; Kelley, J.; Downs, W. (1999). "Equatorius: A new hominoid genus from the middle Miocene of Kenya". Science. 285 (5432): 1382–1386.
doi:
10.1126/science.285.5432.1382.
PMID10464093.
Zalmout, I. S.; Sanders, W. J.; MacLatchy, L. M.; Gunnell, G. F.; Al-Mufarreh, Y. A.; Ali, M. A.; Nasser, A.-A. H.; Al-Masari, A. M.; Al-Sobhi, S. A.; Nadhra, A. O.; Matari, A. H.; Wilson, J. A.; Gingerich, P. D. (2010). "New Oligocene primate from Saudi Arabia and the divergence of apes and Old World monkeys". Nature. 466 (7304): 360–364.
Bibcode:
2010Natur.466..360Z.
doi:
10.1038/nature09094.
PMID20631798.
S2CID205220837.