Proconsul major

Proconsul major
Temporal range: Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Proconsulidae (extinct)
Subfamily: Proconsulinae (extinct)
Genus: Proconsul (extinct)
Species: P. major
Binomial name
Proconsul major
Le Gros Clark & Leakey, 1950

Proconsul major, an extinct primate of the genus Proconsul, was possibly the ancestor of Afropithecus and showed hominid characteristics. It occurred during the early Miocene and was roughly, the size of a gorilla.

Proconsul major lived on the continent of Africa. Based upon dental morphology, Proconsul major was a frugivorous species.

Morphology

Proconsul major had a dental formula of 2:1:2:3 on both the upper and lower jaw. The canines are sexually dimorphic. The inferior transverse torus is absent and the superior transverse torus is well-developed in Proconsul major. This species had an average body mass of around 50.0 kilograms.

See also


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