Rudapithecus

Rudapithecus is a chimpanzee-like[2] genus of ape which inhabited Europe during the Late Miocene, approximately 10 million years ago. One species is known, Rudapithecus hungaricus.[3][4] The genus name "Rudapithecus" comes from where it was discovered, in Rudabánya, Northern Hungary in 1965 and sent to Budapest in 1967.[2] The specific name "hungaricus" refers to the country where it was discovered, in Hungary.

Rudapithecus
Temporal range:
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: †Dryopithecini
Genus: †Rudapithecus
Kretzoi, 1969
Species:
†R. hungaricus
Binomial name
†Rudapithecus hungaricus
Kretzoi, 1969[1]

Rudapithecus probably moved among branches like modern apes do now, holding its body upright, and climbing trees with its arms. Rudapithecus hungaricus differed from modern great apes by having a more flexible lumbar, which indicates when Rudapithecus came down to the ground, it might have had the ability to stand upright like humans do. Modern Gorilla, Pan, and Pongo have a long pelvis, and a short lumbar because they are very large animals, which is why they usually walk on all fours. Humans have a longer, more flexible lumbar, which allow humans to stand upright, and walk efficiently on two legs. It is known that Rudapithecus had a more flexible torso than today's apes, because it was much smaller, about the size of a medium-sized dog.[5]

References[6]
  1. Laszlo Kordos (1987). "Description and reconstruction of the skull of Rudapithecus hungaricus Kretzoi (Mammalia)". Annales Musei historico-naturalis hungarici. Hungarian Natural History Museum. 79. ISSN 0521-4726. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  2. László Kordos: 50 years of Rudapithecus (in Hungarian)
  3. University of Missouri (17 September 2019). "Rare 10 million-year-old fossil unearths new view of human evolution". Phys.org. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  4. Begun, David (2009). "Dryopithecins, Darwin, de Bonis, and the European origin of the African apes and human clade". Geodiversitas. 3 (1): 789–816. doi:10.5252/g2009n4a789. S2CID 131688092.
  5. "Rare 10 million-year-old fossil unearths new view of human evolution // Show Me Mizzou // University of Missouri". showme.missouri.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  6. "Rudapithecus of Rudabánya, Hungary". Hungarian Spectrum. 2009-08-16. Retrieved 2020-10-22.


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