Lufengpithecus
Name:
Lufengpithecus
(Lufeng ape - after Lufeng County where the first remains were
found).
Phonetic: Loo-fen-pif-e-kus.
Named By: Wu - 1987.
Synonyms: Ramapithecus lufengensis.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Primates,
Hominidae, Ponginae.
Species: L. lufengensis
(type), L.
hudienensis, L. keiyuanensis.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Estimated to weigh around 50 kilograms.
Known locations: China, Yunnan Province.
Time period: Tortonian to Messinian of the Miocene.
Fossil representation: Mostly teeth that number in
the thousands, but also additional skull and post cranial remains.
For
the first part of their taxonomic life, fossils of Lufengpithecus
were actually known as Ramapithecus lufengensis
(‘Rama ape from
Lufeng). Between 1975 and 1976 however, much more
complete fossils of Ramapithecus were recovered,
but instead of
allowing for more complete restoration of this ape they led to the
realisation that the genus Ramapithecus was
actually established upon
smaller specimens of the earlier named Sivapithecus
(possibly females
of this genus). Not all the fossils of Ramapithecus
were a perfect
fit for Sivapithecus however and one species in
particular, R.
lufengensis, was considered to be just different enough to
be
re-established as a new genus. Thus this led to the naming of the
type species Lufengpithecus lufengensis which
means ‘Lufeng ape from
Lufeng’. This would not be the first time that a species of
Lufengpithecus would be created in such a way as
fossil remains of
Dryopithecus
keiyuanensis would later be shifted over to create
Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis.
Because
of the above history and similar features, Lufengpithecus
is regarded
as a very close relative of the orangutan-like Sivapithecus
and as such
is possibly also related to the huge Gigantopithecus.
Teeth of
Lufengpithecus have low crowns and thick enamel
which has led to the
idea that Lufengpithecus existed upon a diet of
tough vegetation,
possibly even bamboo. The known remains of Lufengpithecus
all point
towards the genus showing strong sexual dimorphism similar to that of
old world monkeys where males are larger than females.
Exact
classification of Lufengpithecus is actually under
debate with some
palaeoprimatologists considering it to be a distinct member of the
Ponginae, while others regard it as belonging to the Homininae.
Argument for this has come from study of Lufengpithecus
fossils of the
facial bones, particularly the sinuses and dental areas. There is
also suggestion that Lufengpithecus was better able
to support itself
in a bipedal posture, although these claims are controversial and are
likely to remain so until further study and/or remains can shed more
insight upon this matter.
Fossil
material that was used to establish Lufengpithecus
chiangmuanensis has
since been referred to the genus Khoratpithecus.
Further reading
- Longgupo: Early Homo colonizer or late Pliocene Lufengpithecus
survivor in south China?. - Human Evolution. 16: 1–12. - D. A. Etler,
T. L. Crummett & M. H. Wolpoff - 2001.
- A Middle Miocene hominoid from Thailand and orangutan origins. -
Nature 422:61-65. - Y. Chaimanee, D. Jolly, M. Benammi, P. Tafforeau,
D. Duzer, I. Moussa & J.-J. Jaeger - 2003.
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