Parapithecidae

views updated May 23 2018

Parapithecidae (order Primates, suborder Simiiformes) An extinct family of primates which lived during the Eocene and Oligocene in Egypt; Eocene fossils from Burma are sometimes included in the family in addition. They showed certain similarities in dentition to Condylarthra, but had short faces and jaws shaped like those of tarsiers. They are usually placed in a superfamily, Parapithecoidea, equally related to Ceboidea and Cercopithecoidea plus Hominoidea.

Parapithecidae

views updated May 08 2018

Parapithecidae (order Primates, suborder Simiiformes) An extinct family of primates which lived during the Eocene and Oligocene in Egypt; Eocene fossils from Burma are sometimes included in the family in addition. They showed certain similarities in dentition to Condylarthra, but had short faces and jaws shaped like those of tarsiers.

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