Theropithecus brumpti
{{Short description|Extinct species of Old World monkey}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|3.3|2}} Pliocene
| image = Theropithecus brumpti AMNH.jpg
| image_caption = Skull cast of T. brumpti
| extinct = yes
| genus = Theropithecus
| species = brumpti
| authority = Arambourg, 1947
}}
Theropithecus brumpti was a large terrestrial monkey that lived in the mid to late Pliocene. It is an extinct species of papionin.
This fossil primate is mostly known from skulls and mandibles found in Pliocene deposits excavated in the Shungura Formation, at the Omo River, Ethiopia. Both T. brumpti and its cousin, the extant gelada (T. gelada), were related to the baboon.{{cite book | author = Turner, Alan |author2=Antón, Mauricio | title = Evolving Eden, An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large-Mammal Fauna | publisher = Columbia University Press | year = 2004 | location = New York | page = 55}}
Description
File:Theropithecus brumpti skull cast (cropped).jpg.]]
Similar to most other such animals, T. brumpti was quadrupedal with highly dexterous, manipulative hands. Males grew very large, as evidenced by a specimen found at Lomekwi, Kenya, which was estimated to have weighed approximately 43.8 kilograms.{{cite journal | doi = 10.1006/jhev.2002.0607 | author = Jablonski, Nina G. |author2=Leakey, Meave G. |author2-link=Meave Leakey |author3=Klarey, Christopher |author4=Antón, Mauricio | title = A New Skeleton of Theropithecus brumpti (Primates: Cercopithecidae) from Lomekwi, West Turkana, Kenya | journal = Journal of Human Evolution | volume = 43 | issue = 6 | pages = 887–923 | date = December 2002 | pmid = 12473488| bibcode = 2002JHumE..43..887J }} (In comparison, the male gelada averages around 20 kilograms {{cite web | last = Hiller | first = C. | year = 2000 | url = http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Theropithecus_gelada.html | title = "Theropithecus gelada" (On-line) | accessdate = 2009-04-12 | work = Animal Diversity Web}}). In addition, the male was most likely very colorful, with the female smaller and less colorful; the species displayed a high degree of sexual dimorphism. Like most papionins, the male possessed large canine teeth, primarily for display.File:Theropithecus brumpti 1.JPG
Diet
Theropithecus brumpti was most likely a folivore. Large muscles in the long muzzle suggest T. brumpti ate tough vegetation, and was capable of breaking and eating large nuts.