Rukwapithecus | |
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Scientific classification![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Superfamily: | Hominoidea |
Family: | †Dendropithecidae |
Subfamily: | †Nyanzapithecinae |
Genus: | †Rukwapithecus Stevenset al., 2013 |
Species: | †R. fleaglei |
Binomial name | |
†Rukwapithecus fleaglei Stevenset al., 2013 |
Rukwapithecus fleaglei, the only species of thegenusRukwapithecus, is a fossilprimate. Known from a single lower jaw preserving four teeth, it is interpreted as the earliesthominoid, a member of the group that includesgibbons,humans, and otherapes. It is known from theNsungwe Formation of south-western Tanzania, which dates to just over 25.2 million years ago. This area has also yielded the earlyOld World monkeyNsungwepithecus.Phylogenetic analysis places it within the groupNyanzapithecinae, related toRangwapithecus andNyanzapithecus.[1]