Dryopithecus

views updated Jun 11 2018

Dryopithecus A genus of extinct apes, fossils of which have been found in Europe and Asia and dated to the mid-Miocene (about 16–7 million years ago). Fossils of Dryopithecus and of the similar genus Proconsul are often referred to as dryopithecines. Dryopithecines are believed to have split into several lines, three of which survived to give rise to the chimpanzees and gorillas, the early hominids, and the orang-utans.