ouranopithecusとは 意味・読み方・使い方

Ouranopithecus macedoniensis, sometimes called Graecopithecus freybergi, is a prehistoric hominid species found in Greece and dated to the late Miocene. Based on O. macedoniensis's dental and facial anatomy, it is possible that O. macedoniensis was a dryopithecine. However, O. macedoniensis seems to be more closely related to orangutans in subfamily Ponginae while the most of Dryopithecinae are more closely related to the other great apes in Homininae and a few are considered to be outside of the ape clade altogether. One distinctive trait that Ouranopithecus shares with the humans and other modern African apes is the frontal sinus, a cavity in the forehead. Some investigators consider it possible that O. macedoniensis was the last common ancestor of the great apes and the humans.