Mesopithecus

Mesopithecus ("middle monkey" for being between <a href="/facts/Hylobates/AeHEmgGI">Hylobates</a> and <a href="/facts/Semnopithecus/APz86rzb">Semnopithecus</a> in build) is an extinct genus of <a href="/facts/Old_World_monkey/hrhKhgt7">Old World monkey</a> belonging to the subfamily <a href="/facts/Colobinae/kQYzXQqM">Colobinae</a> that lived in <a href="/facts/Eurasia/KlLI9GDM">Eurasia</a> during the Late <a href="/facts/Miocene/cBRRzq4g">Miocene</a> and <a href="/facts/Pliocene/MjcIVQ86">Pliocene</a> epochs, around 8.2-2.6 million years ago. Fossils span from <a href="/facts/Great_Britain/TNgGQRPj">Great Britain</a> and the <a href="/facts/Iberian_Peninsula/ztFXI8zt">Iberian Peninsula</a> in the west, eastwards to the <a href="/facts/Indian_subcontinent/0XUWGXpx">Indian Subcontinent</a> and <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a>. Mesopithecus had a body length of about 40 centimetres (16 in), possessing a slender body with long, muscular limbs and flexible <a href="/facts/Finger/v2gDEpbp">fingers</a>. Analysis of its anatomy suggests that members of the genus were semiterrestrial, spending a considerable amount of the time on the ground, though some authors have argued that some species were likely arboreal. Mesopithecus were likely capable climbers and probably occasionally engaged in leaping. Dental microwear analysis suggests that it fed on hard seeds as well as probably leaves. The relationship of Mesopithecus to living members of Colobinae is uncertain, some have interpreted it as an early offshoot outside the split between Asian and African colobines, while others have interpreted it as a close relative of the Asian <a href="/facts/Douc/SEHnohDu">doucs</a> (Pygathrix).

Mesopithecus open-in-new

Mesopithecus