Propliopithecoidea Temporal range:
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Parvorder: | Catarrhini |
Superfamily: | †Propliopithecoidea |
Propliopithecoidea is a superfamily of catarrhine primates that inhabited Africa and the Arabian Peninsula during the Early Oligocene about 32 to 29 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Egypt, Oman and Angola. They are one of the earliest known families of catarrhines.[1][2] They have a number of features in common with extant catarrhines, but also features that are primitive and not found in later catarrhine families.[1]
There are five species, which are close enough to be often viewed as all belonging to a single genus. They have a body mass of 4–8 kg (8.8–17.6 lb), similar in size to modern howler monkeys.[1]