Oligopithecus savagei


TAXONOMY:

MORPHOLOGY:
Oligopithecus savagei has a dental formula of ?:1:2:3 on the lower jaw (Fleagle, 1988). This species is only known from one jaw bone (Fleagle, 1988). The canine is relatively small and the front premolar (P3) is narrow and resembles the callitrichines more than the catarrhines (Fleagle, 1988). The lower third premolar is sectorial (Conroy, 1990). This species has primitive molars as compared to other haplorrhines (Fleagle, 1988). The lower molars have a trigonid which is higher than the talonid (Conroy, 1990). The lower molars also have a long and obliquely directed cristid obliqua and a small paraconid on the first molar (Conroy, 1990). The lower molars of this species have sharply defined and high occlusal crests and cusps (Conroy, 1990). Based upon the one jaw bone, this species had a body mass of 1.5 kilograms (Fleagle, 1988).

RANGE:
Oligopithecus savagei was found in Africa and discovered in the country of Egypt (Fleagle, 1988). This species occurred during the early Oligocene (Fleagle, 1988).

REFERENCES:
Conroy, G.C. 1990. Primate Evolution. W.W. Norton and Co.: New York.

Fleagle, J.G. 1988. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Academic Press: New York.

Last updated: November 16, 2001

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