Anadoluvius, a new name for an extinct great ape from Anatolia

[DD1991]

In case anyone hasn't noticed, Sevim-Erol et al. (2023) erect the new genus Anadoluvius for the extinct great ape Ouranopithecus turkae from the late Miocene of central Anatolia in Türkiye based on newly discovered cranial remains for that taxon. I remember that Graecopithecus and Ouranopithecus are significant for documenting the presence of Miocene apes from the southernmost Balkans because the country in which they were found is famous for its ancient temples and deities and for beng considered the birthplace of Western civilization and philosophy, but the hominine placement of Anadoluvius and Ouranopithecus in sharp contrast to Ankarapithecus being a pongine hominid demonstrates that the two extant hominid clades spread to central Anatolia by late Miocene after island hopping across southern Europe from Africa, given that Chororapithecus has been classified as an extinct gorilla.   

 

Sevim-Erol, A., Begun, D. R., Sönmez Sözer, Ç., Mayda, S., van den Hoek Ostende, L. W., Martin, R. M. G., and Cihat Alçiçek, M., 2023. A new ape from Türkiye and the radiation of late Miocene hominines. Communications Biology 6 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1038/s42003-023-05210-5.