Pliopithecus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of primates}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Miocene, {{fossilrange|15.97|11.62|}}

| image = Pliopithecus antiquus.jpg

| image_caption = Mandible fragment of Pliopithecus antiquus from Sansan, France; cast from Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris

| taxon = Pliopithecus

| authority = Gervais, 1849

| subdivision_ranks = Paleospecies

| subdivision =

• †Pliopithecus antiquus
• †Pliopithecus bii
• †Pliopithecus canmatensis
• †Pliopithecus piveteaui
• †Pliopithecus platyodon
• †Pliopithecus vindobonensis
• †Pliopithecus zhanxiangi

}}

Image:Pliopithecus antiquus 1.JPG

Pliopithecus (meaning "more ape") is a genus of extinct primates of the Miocene. It was discovered in 1837 by Édouard Lartet (1801–1871) in France, with fossils subsequently discovered in Switzerland, Slovakia and Spain.

Pliopithecus had a similar size and form to modern gibbons, to which it may be related, although it is probably not a direct ancestor. It had long limbs, hands, and feet, and may have been able to brachiate, swinging between trees using its arms. Unlike gibbons, it had a short tail, and only partial stereoscopic vision.{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|pages= 291|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}}

They appear to have originated in Asia and extended their range into Europe between 20 and 17 million years ago.{{cite book |title=The International Encyclopedia of Biological Anthropology |volume=1 |editor-first=Wenda |editor-last=Trevathan |last=Harrison|first=Terry|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |doi=10.1002/9781118584538.ieba0087 |year=2018 |pages=306–311 |chapter=Catarrhine Origins |isbn=978-1-118-58442-2 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/38186334}}

Begun and Harrison list the following species within the genus:

• Pliopithecus antiquus
• Pliopithecus bii
• Pliopithecus canmatensis
• Pliopithecus platyodon
• Pliopithecus vindobonensis
• Pliopithecus zhanxiangi

Pliopithecus antiquus has been referred to previously as P. piveteaui.{{cite web |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=64158|title=Pliopithecus antiquus Blainville 1839|quote="Synonym: Pliopithecus piveteaui Hürzeler 1954"}} P. vindobonensis is sometimes considered to be a separate genus, Epipliopithecus.{{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 |pages=225–277 |doi=10.1006/jhev.1999.0310 |bibcode=1999JHumE..37..225H |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=143129|doi-access=free |pmid=10444352 }} Anapithecus is a close relative and was initially considered a subgenus of Pliopithecus.