Dryopithecus Facts and Figures

Dryopithecus Facts and Figures Name:Â Dryopithecus (Greek for tree primate); articulated DRY-gracious substance ECK-us Habitat:Â Woodlands of Eurasia and Africa Recorded Epoch:Â Middle Miocene (15-10 million years back) Size and Weight:Â About four feet in length and 25 pounds Diet:Â Fruit Recognizing Characteristics:Â Moderate size; long front arms; chimpanzee-like headâ About Dryopithecus One of the numerous ancient primates of the Miocene age (a nearby contemporary was Pliopithecus), Dryopithecus was a tree-abiding chimp that began in eastern Africa around 15 million years prior and afterward (like its primate relatives a large number of years after the fact) transmitted out into Europe and Asia. Dryopithecus was just remotely identified with present day people; this old gorilla had chimpanzee-like appendages and facial highlights, and it most likely shifted back and forth between strolling on its knuckles and running on its rear legs (particularly when it was being pursued by predators). In general, however, Dryopithecus likely invested a large portion of its energy high up in trees, staying alive on organic product (an eating regimen we can surmise from its moderately frail cheek teeth, which wouldnt have had the option to deal with harder vegetation). The strangest reality about Dryopithecus, and one that has created a lot of disarray, is that this primate lived for the most part in western Europe as opposed to Africa. Today, Europe isnt precisely known for its monkeys and gorillas - the main indigenous species is the Barbary macaque, which is scarcely European, restricted for what it's worth to the shoreline of southern Spain, where it has entered from its typical living space in northern Africa. Its conceivable, however a long way from demonstrated, that the genuine cauldron of primate development during the later Cenozoic Era was Europe instead of Africa, and that after the enhancement of monkeys and chimps these primates moved from Europe and populated (or repopulated) the mainlands for which theyre most popular today, Africa, Asia, and South America.