Paracolobus

Paracolobus; Temporal range: Pliocene–Early Pleistocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	Holotype specimen of P. chemeroni (AMNH 129319)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Subfamily:	Colobinae
Genus:	†Paracolobus; R.E.F. Leakey, 1969
Type species
	†Paracolobus chemeroni; Leakey, 1969
Species
	†Paracolobus chemeroni; †Paracolobus enkorikae; †Paracolobus mutiwa;

Paracolobus is an extinct genus of primate closely related to the living colobus monkeys. It lived in eastern Africa in the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene.^[1] Fossils have been found in Kenya and Ethiopia, in places such as the Omo valley.^[2]

Description

Species of Paracolobus were large monkeys; P. chemeroni is estimated to have weighed between 30–50 kg (66–110 lb),^[3] while P. mutiwa and the comparatively small P. enkorikae have been estimated at 39 kg (86 lb) and 9 kg (20 lb), respectively.^[4] Compared to another giant monkey Cercopithecoides, Paracolobus had a longer face and deeper jaws. It had a longer cranium, broader muzzle, wider face and longer nasal bone than its closest relative, the extinct Rhinocolobus.^[5] Its dentition was similar to modern colobus monkeys, indicating a largely folivorous diet.^[4] Despite its large size, it was probably arboreal like its modern relatives.

References

^ McKenna and Bell, 1997, p. 344
^ Leakey, Meave G. (1982). "Extinct large colobines from the Plio-Pleistocene of Africa". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 58 (2): 153–172. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330580207.
^ Brooks, Alison S. (2004). Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory: Second Edition. Taylor & Francis. p. 188. ISBN 9781135582289.
^ ^a ^b Fleagle, John G. (2013). Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Elsevier Science. pp. 353–408. ISBN 9781483288505.
^ Werdelin, Lars; Sanders, William Joseph (2010). Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press. p. 405. ISBN 9780520257214.

Literature cited

McKenna, M.C. and Bell, S.K. 1997. Classification of Mammals: Above the species level. New York: Columbia University Press, 631 pp. ISBN 0-231-11013-8