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Femoral anatomy of Aegyptopithecus zeuxis, an early Oligocene anthropoid
Author(s) -
AnkelSimons Friderun,
Fleagle John G.,
Chatrath Prithijit S.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(199808)106:4<413::aid-ajpa1>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - arboreal locomotion , anatomy , femur , extant taxon , postcrania , biology , paleontology , trochanter , geology , greater trochanter , lesser trochanter , taxon , femoral neck , evolutionary biology , ecology , habitat , osteoporosis , endocrinology
Three partial femora from Quarries I and M of the early Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation in the Fayum of Egypt are attributed to Aegyptopithecus zeuxis on the basis of their appropriate size and anthropoid morphology. Compared with extant catarrhines, Aegyptopithecus is unusual in having a distinct gluteal tuberosity (third trochanter) and a relatively deep distal femoral articulation. In the estimated neck angle, Aegyptopithecus resembles arboreal quadrupeds rather than either leaping or suspensory primates. It seems likely that the femur of this species was relatively robust and short for its body mass. In aspects of its femoral anatomy, Aegyptopithecus is quite different from the parapithecid Apidium and more similar to Catopithecus from late Eocene deposits of the Fayum, and also to small hominoids from the Miocene of East Africa. Am J Phys Anthropol 106:413–424, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.