Rhinocolobus
Rhinocolobus is an extinct genus of monkey closely related to modern colobus monkeys. It lived in eastern Africa during the Plio-Pleistocene, existing as recently as 1.5 million years ago.[1][2]
| Rhinocolobus Temporal range: Pliocene - Early Pleistocene
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Subfamily: | Colobinae |
| Genus: | †Rhinocolobus Leakey, 1982 |
| Species: | †R. turkanaensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Rhinocolobus turkanaensis Leakey, 1982 | |
Taxonomy
Fossils of Rhinocolobus were found in Shungura formation and Usno formation surrounding the Omo river valley and the Hadar formation surrounding the Afar depression in Ethiopia.[3] It has been closely allied with living colobus monkeys as well as the extinct Paracolobus.
Description
Rhinocolobus was larger than any living colobus monkey, and also displayed sexual dimorphism. Fossils of males have been estimated to weigh 31 kg (68 lb), while females have been estimated at only 17 kg (37 lb).[4] It had a fairly long muzzle, and a nearly absent nasal bone, comparable to Asian snub-nosed monkeys.[1] Compared to its modern relatives, it would have had a noticeably short nose. However, postcranial elements are nearly indistinguishable from the corresponding bones of living colobus monkeys outside of size, which suggests that it was a mostly arboreal, folivorous species in spite of its greater size.
References
- Werdelin, Lars; Sanders, William Joseph (2010). Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press. p. 407. ISBN 9780520257214.
- Leakey, Meave G. (1982). "Extinct large colobines from the Plio-Pleistocene of Africa". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 58 (2): 153–172. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330580207.
- Frost, S.R.; Delson, E. (2002). "Fossil Cercopithecidae from the Hadar Formation and surrounding areas of the Afar Depression, Ethiopia". Journal of Human Evolution. 43 (5): 687–748. doi:10.1006/jhev.2002.0603. PMID 12457855.
- Delson, E. (2000). "Body Mass in Cercopithecidae (Primates, Mammalia): Estimation and Scaling in Extinct and Extant Taxa". Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History. 118 (4): 159.