Kingdom Animalia Class Mammalia Superfamily Hominoidea Rank Genus | Phylum Chordata Order Primates Family Hominidae | |
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Similar Equatorius, Afropithecus, Morotopithecus, Griphopithecus, Kenyapithecus | ||
Nacholapithecus is a Middle Miocene genus of hominoid found in the Nachola formation in northern Kenya, a key genus in early hominid evolution. Similar in body plan to Proconsul, it had a long vertebral column with six lumbar vertebrae, no tail, a narrow torso, large upper limbs with mobile shoulder joints, and long feet.
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Together with other Kenyapithecinae such as Equatorius, Kenyapithecus, and Griphopithecus, Nacholapithecus displayed synapomorphies with Anoiapithecus.
Taxonomy
Nacholapithecus was initially classified as belonging in Kenyapithecus (Ishida et al 1984), then attributed (Ward et al. 1999) to Equatorius (with Equatorius perhaps grouped into a sub-family Equatorinae, instead of both species in Afropithecini (Cameron 2004) ), finally recognised as a separate genus (Ishida et al 1999). Classified perhaps as a member of the family Proconsulidae (I. S. Zalmout et al. 2010).
Nacholapithecus kerioi
Nacholapithecus kerioi is a hominoid known from the Aka Aiteputh Formation, in Nachola, Northern Kenya.
Formation
The formation is largely part of the north-western rift flank overlying the Nachola Formation, part of the Neogene system (Samburu).