Ouranopithecus macedoniensis
Ouranopithecus macedoniensis is a prehistoric species of Ouranopithecus from the Late Miocene of Greece. See more detail at Ouranopithecus.
| Ouranopithecus macedoniensis Temporal range: Miocene | |
|---|---|
| Ouranopithecus macedoniensis skull in the French National Museum of Natural History, Paris | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Family: | Hominidae |
| Genus: | †Ouranopithecus |
| Species: | †O. macedoniensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ouranopithecus macedoniensis Bonis & Melentis, 1977 | |
This species is known from three localities in Northern Greece. The type location is Ravin de la Pluie. The other localities are Chalkidiki and Xirochori. The first specimen of Ouranopithecus macedoniensis with upper deciduous teeth is described from the Ravin de la Pluie locality in Axios Valley.
It is known from a large collection of cranial fossils and few postcranial. The material has been dated to the late Miocene 9.6 – 8.7 million years old, so slightly earlier than O. turkae. To some this suggests O. turkae is the direct descendant of O. macedoniensis, although it is generally accepted that they are sister taxa.