Pliopithecus

Pliopithecus antiquus from Sansan, France

• Europe and Asia

• Pliopithecus antiquus Gervais, 1849
• Pliopithecus platyodon Biedermann, 1863
• Pliopithecus zhanxiangi Harrison et al. 1991
• Pliopithecus piveteaui Hürzeler, 1954
• Pliopithecus sp. [ Spain ] [ Begun, 2002]
• Pliopithecus canmatensis Alba et al., 2010

Pliopithecus is a primate genus with several species of the Miocene and Pliocene described and lived about 16-11 million years ago. He seems to have been widely used in Europe and Asia, can be found, however, hardly ever in Africa. His food was strictly vegetarian, he fed on leaves and fruit. The Pliopithecus was only about 20 to 40 cm tall, his appearance may have reminded of a modern Gibbon, though his arms were not as extreme long as the modern representatives. It was discovered in 1837 by Edouard Lartet ( 1801-71 ) at Sansan (France). The Pliopithecus considered a possible ancestor of modern gibbons.

Morphological similarities with Pliopithecus antiquus has Lomorupithecus harrisoni.