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Potential Hominoid Ancestors for Hominidae

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Handbook of Paleoanthropology

Abstract

Human origin and evolution are a prominent topic among scientists, one on which there continues to be disagreement. Each new finding raises new questions and arguments. This chapter summarizes the currently available data and hypotheses on hominid origins. The origin of the hominids may be traceable to Oligocene anthropoids such as Aegyptopithecus, which share some derived features with the early hominoids. The Latest Oligocene taxon Kamoyapithecus could be the oldest known hominoid, as it has relationships with some Miocene taxa. Proconsul is the most plausible taxon linking the hominoids to the great ape and human clades, as it preserves a mosaic of features from both groups. The Middle Miocene European hominoids seem to play an important role, and could include the possible link between more archaic hominoids and the great ape and human clades; candidates are numerous among both European and African forms. Among Late Miocene taxa, the craniodental morphology of Ouranopithecus provides the closest and most plausible link connecting the hominoids to the extant great apes and humans; its strong relationships to the australopiths and Homo put this taxon among the best candidates for this role at the moment. The Latest Miocene Sahelanthropus and Orrorin seem to be important links in the evolution of the hominids, whereas the Asian Middle-Late Miocene hominoids have strong similarities with the modern orangutans and are related to the “Pongo-lineage.”

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Acknowledgments

I wish to thank very much Dr I. Sylvestrou for her nice work on figures 1 and 4l.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Geology and Palaeontology, Department of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124, Thessaloniki, Greece

    George D. Koufos

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  1. George D. Koufos
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Correspondence to George D. Koufos .

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  1. Institut für Anthropologie, Johannes-Gutenberg Universität, Mainz, Germany

    Winfried Henke

  2. Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA

    Ian Tattersall

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Koufos, G.D. (2015). Potential Hominoid Ancestors for Hominidae. In: Henke, W., Tattersall, I. (eds) Handbook of Paleoanthropology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39979-4_44

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