Pliopithecidae

{{Short description|Extinct family of primates}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Early Miocene|Pliocene}}

| image = Dendropithecus macinnesi.JPG

| image_caption = Dendropithecus macinnesi fossil

| display_parents = 3

| taxon = Pliopithecidae

| authority =

| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies

| subdivision =

Crouzeliinae

Pliopithecinae

Dionysopithecinae

}}

The family Pliopithecidae is an extinct family of fossil catarrhines and members of the Pliopithecoidea superfamily.

Their anatomy combined primitive features such as a small braincase, a long snout, and a tail. At the same time, they possessed more advanced features such as stereoscopic vision and ape-like teeth and jaws, clearly distinguishing them from monkeys.{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|pages= 290–291|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}}

Begun and Harrison divide the Pliopithecidae into subfamilies Pliopithecinae and Crouzeliinae.{{cite book|editor-last1=Begun|editor-first1=David|title=A Companion To Paleoanthropology|date=2012|chapter=Chapter 20 Catarrhine Origins|last=Harrison|first=Terry|publisher=Wiley Blackwell|isbn=978-1-118-33237-5|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oIoT1RcFeCwC&pg=PT276}} [https://www.academia.edu/7124992/2013_Harrison_-_Catarrhine_Origins Alt URL] Dionysopithecinae are sometimes placed here as a subfamily,{{cite journal|last1=Harrison|first1=T|last2=Gu|first2=Y|title=Taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of early Miocene catarrhines from Sihong, China|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|date=1999|volume=37|issue=2|page=225|doi=10.1006/jhev.1999.0310|bibcode=1999JHumE..37..225H|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=143129|doi-access=free}} but Begun & Harrison place them in their own family, the Dionysopithecidae.