Sivapithecus

Ramsaday college

Sivapithecus

Sivapithecus (Shiva's Ape) (syn: Ramapithecus) is a genus of extinct apes. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.2 million years old in the Miocene, have been found since the 19th century in the Siwalik Hills of the Indian subcontinent. Any one of the species in this genus may have been the ancestor to the modern orangutans. The first incomplete specimens of Sivapithecus were found in northern India in the late 19th century. In 1982, David Pilbeam published a description of a significant fossil find, formed by a large part of the face and jaw of a Sivapithecus. The specimen bore many similarities to the orangutan skull and strengthened the theory (previously suggested by others) that Sivapithecus was closely related to orangutans. Chronology & Environmental background: Middle-Late Miocene (12-7 million years ago). Habitat: Woodlands of central Asia. Distribution: Sivapithecus is closely related to Ramapithecus, and fossils of the two primates have often been recovered from the same deposits in the Siwālik Hills of northern Pakistan. Other Sivapithecus remains have been found at sites in Turkey, Pakistan, China, Greece, and Kenya. Some authorities maintain that Sivapithecus and Ramapithecus are in fact the same species, though Sivapithecus was slightly larger than Ramapithecus. Salient anatomical features: Sivapithecus was about 1.5 metres (5 ft) in body length, similar in size to a modern orangutan. In most respects, it would have resembled a chimpanzee, but its face was closer to that of an orangutan. The shape of its wrists and general body proportions suggest that it spent a significant amount of its time on the ground, as well as in trees. It had large canine teeth, and heavy molars. Most important, from the perspective of paleontologists, were the shape of Sivapithecus' teeth. This primate's large canines and heavily enameled molars point to a diet of tough tubers and stems (such as would be found on the open plains) rather than tender fruits (such as would be found in trees). Species: Currently three species are generally recognized: • Sivapithecus indicus fossils date from about 12.5 million to 10.5 million years ago.

• Sivapithecus parvada described in 1988, this species is significantly larger and dated to about 10 million years ago.

Sk. Hedayet Hossain, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology Ramsaday college

• Sivapithecus sivalensis lived from 9.5 million to 8.5 million years ago. It was found at the Pothowar plateau in Pakistan as well as in parts of India. The animal was about the size of a chimpanzee but had the facial morphology of an orangutan; it ate soft fruit (detected in the toothwear pattern) and was probably mainly arboreal. Phylogeny: Sivapithecus, fossil primate genus dating from the Miocene Epoch (23.7 to 5.3 million years ago) and thought to be the direct ancestor of the orangutan. Sivapithecus is intimately associated with Ramapithecus, a now-downgraded genus of central Asian primate, discovered in the country of Nepal, that was once considered to be directly ancestral to modern humans. It turns out that the analysis of the original Ramapithecus fossils was flawed and that this primate was less human-like, and more orangutan-like, than had initially been thought, not to mention disturbingly similar to the earlier-named Sivapithecus. Today, most paleontologists believe that the fossils attributed to Ramapithecus actually represent the slightly smaller females of genus Sivapithecus (sexual differentiation not being an uncommon feature of ancestral apes and hominids), and that neither genus was a direct Homo sapiens ancestor.

Sk. Hedayet Hossain, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology