Dryopithecini

As Dryopithecini is called ( Hominoidea ) an extinct tribe in the superfamily of human -like. The tribe was introduced in 1939 by William King Gregory and Milo Hellman. Due to the small number so far discovered, meaningful fossils is controversial ( incertae sedis ) whether the Dryopithecini the family of apes attributable ( Hominidae ) or as segregated family ( Dryopithecinae ) be submitted in addition to the great apes.

David Begun According to it was in the nature of Dryopithecini to medium to large primates, their body weight was 20 to 45 kg.

As a result of the modest Fund location and the phylogenetic relations between around 20 to 10 million years old, ape -like fossils are not secured from the Miocene, there is as yet too - depending on the researchers - different views on the number of associated species.

For example, ordered David Begun 2009, the three genera Dryopithecus, Rudapithecus and Hispanopithecus - mainly due to their referring to mainly frugivore diet thin enamel layers - in the subtribe Dryopithecina (Gregory and Hellman, 1939) and the two genera Ouranopithecus and Graecopithecus - due to their robust masticatory apparatus and extremely thick enamel layers - in the newly introduced him Ouranopithecina subtribe of the tribe Dryopithecini one (that is, exclusively fossil finds from Europe). Eric Delson, however, had in 1977 next to Dryopithecus also Limnopithecus legetet the subtribe Dryopithecina and additionally Gigantopithecus the sister subtribe Gigantopithecina assigned, that is, also fossil finds from Asia and Africa. Other authors also arranged Pierolapithecus and Anoiapithecus - two other fossil finds from Europe - in the tribe.