Dionysopithecidae is an extinct family of fossil catarrhines and the earliest-known and most primitive members of the Pliopithecoidea superfamily, with fossils in Sihong in China dating to 18–17 million years ago for species Dionysopithecus shuangouensis and Platodontopithecus jianghuaiensis.[1]

Dionysopithecidae
Temporal range: Early Miocene–Pliocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Parvorder: Catarrhini
Superfamily: Pliopithecoidea
Family: Dionysopithecidae
Genera

A single lower molar found in Ban San Klang in Thailand is similar to those found in Sihong but sufficiently different to be considered a different species, Dionysopithecus orientalis.[1]

They are sometimes treated as a subfamily of Pliopithecidae as 'Dionysopithecinae'.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Harrison, Terry (2012). "Chapter 20 Catarrhine Origins" (PDF). In Begun, David (ed.). A Companion To Paleoanthropology. Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-118-33237-5. Archived from the original on 2023-09-05.
  2. ^ Harrison, T; Gu, Y (1999). "Taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of early Miocene catarrhines from Sihong, China". Journal of Human Evolution. 37 (2): 225. Bibcode:1999JHumE..37..225H. doi:10.1006/jhev.1999.0310.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Prehistoric World page 434.