| Sivapithecus | |
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| S. indicus GSP 15000, on loan at theNatural History Museum, London | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Family: | Hominidae |
| Subfamily: | Ponginae |
| Tribe: | †Sivapithecini |
| Genus: | †Sivapithecus Pilgrim, 1910 |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
Brahmapithecus | |
Sivapithecus (lit. 'Shiva's Ape') (syn:Ramapithecus) is agenus ofextinctapes. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.2 million years old[1] in theMiocene, have been found since the 19th century in theSivalik Hills of theIndian subcontinent as well as inKutch. Any one of the species in this genus may have been the ancestor to the modernorangutans.
Some early discoveries were given the separate namesRamapithecus (Rama's Ape) andBramapithecus (Brahma's Ape), and were thought to be possible ancestors of humans.
The first incomplete specimens ofSivapithecus were found in northern India in the late 19th century.
Another find was made inNepal on the bank of theTinau River situated inPalpa District; a western part of the country in 1932. This find was named "Ramapithecus". The discoverer, G. Edward Lewis, claimed that it was distinct fromSivapithecus, as the jaw was more like a human's than any other fossil ape then known,[2] a claim revived in the 1960s. At that time, it was believed that the ancestors of humans had diverged from other apes 14 million years ago. Biochemical studies upset this view, suggesting that there was an early split betweenorangutan ancestors and the common ancestors ofchimpanzees,gorillas andhumans.
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Meanwhile, more complete specimens ofRamapithecus were found in 1975 and 1976, which showed that it was less human-like than had been thought. It began to look more and more likeSivapithecus, meaning that the older name must take priority. It is also possible that fossils assigned toRamapithecus belonged to the female form ofSivapithecus.[3] They were definitely members of the same genus. It is also likely that they were already separate from the common ancestor ofchimpanzees,gorillas and humans, which may be represented by the prehistoricgreat apeNakalipithecus nakayamai. Siwalik specimens once assigned to the genusRamapithecus are now considered by most researchers to belong to one or more species ofSivapithecus.Ramapithecus is no longer regarded as a likely ancestor of humans.
In 1982,David Pilbeam published a description of a significant fossil find fromPotwar Plateau,Pakistan, formed by a large part of the face and jaw of aSivapithecus. The partial skull was likely scavenged after death. The specimen (GSP 15000) bore many similarities to theorangutan skull and strengthened the theory (previously suggested by others) thatSivapithecus was closely related to orangutans.[4]
In 2011, a 10.8 million-year old (Neogene period) upper jawbone ofSivapithecus was found inKutch district ofGujarat, India. The find also extendedSivapithecus' southern range in Indian subcontinent significantly. The species can not be identified.[5][6]
Sivapithecus was about 1.5 metres (5 ft) in body length, similar in size to a modern orangutan. In most respects, it would have resembled a chimpanzee, but its face was closer to that of an orangutan. The shape of its wrists and general body proportions suggest that it spent a significant amount of its time on the ground, as well as in trees.[7] It had largecanine teeth, and heavymolars, suggesting a diet of relatively tough food, such as seeds andsavannah grasses.[7]
Similarities to orangutans in what are chiefly jaw and partial skull fossils are a concave face with largezygomatic arch bones, narrow setting of eyes from each other, smoothness of nasal floor, and central incisor enlargement.[8][7] However Sivapithecus' "dental characteristics and postcranial skeleton do not confirm this phylogenetic position" say Yaowalak Chaimanee of the Paleontology section of Thailand'sDepartment of Mineral Resources and colleagues, while reporting a find in 2003, so neat affinities are not the state of finding to date.[9]
Currently three species are generally recognized:
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