Nakalipithecus

Name: Nakalipithecus.
Phonetic: Nak-ah-le-pif-e-kus.
Named By: Yutaka Kunimatsu,‭ ‬Masato Nakatsukasa,‭ ‬Yoshihiro Sawada,‭ ‬Tetsuya Sakai,‭ ‬Masayuki Hyodo,‭ ‬Hironobu Hyodo,‭ ‬Tetsumaru Itaya,‭ ‬Hideo Nakaya,‭ ‬Haruo Saegusa,‭ ‬Arnaud Mazurier,‭ ‬Mototaka Saneyoshi,‭ ‬Hiroshi Tsujikawa,‭ ‬Ayumi Yamamoto‭ & ‬Emma Mbua‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Primates,‭ ‬Hominidae,‭ ‬Homininae,‭ ‬Dryopithecini.
Species: N.‭ ‬nakayamai‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Herbivore/Omnivore‭?
Size: Unavailable.
Known locations: Kenya.
Time period: Tortonian of the Miocene.
Fossil representation: Jaw Bone.




       Although‭ ‬Nakalipithecus is so far only known from a jaw bone,‭ ‬Nakalipithecus has been a major contribution to our understanding of hominid evolution specifically regarding hominines,‭ ‬including the ancestors of humans.‭ ‬For some time there have been two competing theories regarding the ancient origins of our own direct ancestors,‭ ‬concerning either an African or Asian origin.‭ ‬Our own immediate ancestors seem to be African,‭ ‬but their ancestors‭ ‬have seemed to be from Asia.‭ ‬What the discovery of Nakalipithecus has shown us that early appearing and primitive members of the Homininae‭ (‬the group that humans are classed in‭) ‬were actually living in Africa at the same approximate time as ancestral forms in Asia,‭ ‬perhaps even earlier.‭ ‬What this means‭ (‬and unless future research proves otherwise‭)‬,‭ ‬is that‭ ‬the Asian origin of homonines theory is no longer as convincing as it used to be.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new Late Miocene great ape from Kenya and its implications for the origins of African great apes and humans.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences‭ ‬104‭ (‬49‭)‬:‭ ‬19220‭–‬19225.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yutaka Kunimatsu,‭ ‬Masato Nakatsukasa,‭ ‬Yoshihiro Sawada,‭ ‬Tetsuya Sakai,‭ ‬Masayuki Hyodo,‭ ‬Hironobu Hyodo,‭ ‬Tetsumaru Itaya,‭ ‬Hideo Nakaya,‭ ‬Haruo Saegusa,‭ ‬Arnaud Mazurier,‭ ‬Mototaka Saneyoshi,‭ ‬Hiroshi Tsujikawa,‭ ‬Ayumi Yamamoto‭ & ‬Emma Mbua‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007.



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