Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 7, 2026

Nyanzapithecinae

The Nyanzapithecinae or Nyanzapithecines are a subfamily of extinct Dendropithecidae as sister of Simiolus. The group contains Rangwapithecus, Turkanapithecus, Rukwapithecus, Oreopithecus, and Nyanzapithecus. In the following tree the internal structure of Nyanzapithecinae of Nengo et al. is followed.

Last revised
Jun 7, 2026
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Nyanzapithecinae
Temporal range:
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: Primates
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Dendropithecidae
Subfamily: Nyanzapithecinae
Harrison, 1999/2002
Genera

Rangwapithecus
Turkanapithecus
Rukwapithecus
Oreopithecus?
Nyanzapithecus

The Nyanzapithecinae or Nyanzapithecines are a subfamily of extinct Dendropithecidae as sister of Simiolus.12 The group contains Rangwapithecus, Turkanapithecus, Rukwapithecus, Oreopithecus, and Nyanzapithecus. In the following tree the internal structure of Nyanzapithecinae of Nengo et al. is followed.3

Nyanzapithecinae Harrison, 2002

  • Nyanzapithecus Harrison, 1986
    • Nyanzapithecus harrisoni Kunimatsu, 1997
    • Nyanzapithecus pickfordi Harrison, 1986
    • Nyanzapithecus vancouveringorum Andrews, 1974
  • Mabokopithecus von Koenigswald, 1969
    • Mabokopithecus clarki von Koenigswald, 1969
  • Rangwapithecus Andrews, 1974
    • Rangwapithecus gordoni Andrews, 1974
  • Turkanapithecus Leakey & Leakey, 1986
    • Turkanapithecus kalakolensis Leakey & Leakey, 1986

Nengo et al. suggest: "Nyanzapithecines were a long-lived and diverse group of Miocene hominoids that are probably close to the origin of crown hominoids."

References

References

  1. Rasmussen, D. Tab; Friscia, Anthony R.; Gutierrez, Mercedes; Kappelman, John; Miller, Ellen R.; Muteti, Samuel; Reynoso, Dawn; Rossie, James B.; Spell, Terry L. (2019-03-26). "Primitive Old World monkey from the earliest Miocene of Kenya and the evolution of cercopithecoid bilophodonty". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116 (13): 6051–6056. doi:10.1073/pnas.1815423116. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 6442627. PMID 30858323.
  2. Rossie, James B.; Hill, Andrew (2018). "A new species of Simiolus from the middle Miocene of the Tugen Hills, Kenya". Journal of Human Evolution. 125: 50–58. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.09.002. PMID 30502897.
  3. Nengo, Isaiah; Tafforeau, Paul; Gilbert, Christopher C.; Fleagle, John G.; Miller, Ellen R.; Feibel, Craig; Fox, David L.; Feinberg, Josh; Pugh, Kelsey D. (2017). "New infant cranium from the African Miocene sheds light on ape evolution" (PDF). Nature. 548 (7666): 169–174. doi:10.1038/nature23456. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 28796200. S2CID 4397839.