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New Sivapithecus humeri from Pakistan and the relationship of Sivapithecus and Pongo

Nature volume 348, pages 237–239 (1990)Cite this article

Abstract

NEW humeri of two species of the Miocene hominoid Sivapithecus are described from near Chinji in Pakistan from between ∼9 and 11 Myr ago. Sivapithecus, a middle and late Miocene hominoid from Turkey and Indo-Pakistan, is overall unlike any living hominoid, although facial-palatal similarities to the extant orangoutan, Pongo, have been used to support a hypothesis of close relationship. Living hominoids have postcranial similarities assumed to be shared derived, among them features of the proximal humerus. However, the new Sivapithecus proximal humeri differ from those of living hominoids, supporting an alternative hypothesis in which Sivapithecus and Pongo are not closely related. It is not clear how to choose between these incompatible hypotheses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    David Pilbeam & John C. Barry

  2. Department of Anatomy, New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, New Jersey, 07103-2757, USA

    Michael D. Rose

  3. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta, Pakistan

    S. M. Ibrahim Shah

Authors
  1. David Pilbeam
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  2. Michael D. Rose
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  3. John C. Barry
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  4. S. M. Ibrahim Shah
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Pilbeam, D., Rose, M., Barry, J. et al. New Sivapithecus humeri from Pakistan and the relationship of Sivapithecus and Pongo. Nature 348, 237–239 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/348237a0

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