4.2 million-year-old fossil of a monkey has been discovered in Kenya

Fossil of a tiny monkey that weighed the same as a PINEAPPLE and lived 4.2million years ago is discovered in Kenya

  • The Nanopithecus browni was the same size as a modern talapoin monkey 
  • Talapoins live only in West Central Africa and are confined to tropical forests
  • Nanopithecus was found ata site in Kanapoi, Kenya, on the east of the continent 
  • The habitat was dry and covered with grasslands and open forests and was where remains of some of the earliest human ancestors have been found

A 4.2 million-year-old fossil of a tiny monkey weighing the size of a pineapple has been discovered in Kenya. 

The Nanopithecus browni was the same size as a modern talapoin monkey, the smallest living Old World monkey species, which weighs only two to three pounds. 

Talapoins are part of a large group of monkeys called guenons, which are are common across Africa today, but are several times larger than the Nanopithecus. 

They live in West Central Africa and are confined to tropical forests, and thought to be dwarfed from a larger ancestor in response to life in woody, swampy habitats. 

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The new monkey was found at a site called Kanapoi, in Kenya, on the eastern side of the continent. The habitat was dry and covered with grasslands and open forests – a very different place from the tropical forests of Cameroon and Gabon in West Central Africa

However, the monkey fossil was found at a site called Kanapoi, in Kenya, on the eastern side of the continent. 

This habitat was dry and covered with grasslands and open forests – a very different place from the West African tropical forests of Cameroon and Gabon. 

The fact that it lived so long ago in a different habitat so far away from that of modern talapoins, reveals a much more complex evolution of guenon monkeys than previously thought. 

The research suggests that dwarfing may have occurred far longer ago than scientists suspected, and in very different habitats perhaps for different reasons.  

Fredrick Kyalo Manthi, of the National Museums of Kenya, said: ‘The discovery of Nanopithecus browni reaffirms Kenya’s contribution to understanding the evolution and diversity of Pliocene fauna and the environmental contexts in which they lived. 

‘Environmental changes during the Plio-Pleistocene may have influenced the present-day distribution of guenons.’ 

 

Guenon evolution is poorly understood but thought to be driven by changes in forest habitats, with the distribution of modern species reflecting the breakup and re-convergence of ancient forests. 

The 4.2 million-year-old fossil of a tiny monkey that weighed roughly the same as a pineapple has been discovered in Kenya. Location of Kanapoi site where Nanopithecus browni was found compared to present day distribution of talapoin monkeys

Nanopithecus browni was the same size as a modern talapoin monkey, the smallest living Old World monkey species, which weighs only two to three pounds and is about the size of a cottontail rabbit

Talapoins are part of a large group of monkeys called guenons, which are are common across Africa today, but are several times larger than the Nanopithecus. They live in West Central Africa and are confined to tropical forests, and thought to be dwarfed from a larger ancestor

A typical guenon monkey compared to how large Nanopithecus browni would have been the size of a domestic cat.

Kanapoi is also where remains of some of the earliest human ancestors, Australopithecus anamensis, have been found.

Nanopithecus browni is the second oldest guenon found so far, just younger than the guenon single tooth found ten years ago on the Arabian Peninsula, scientists say.  

The discovery was made by researchers from the National Museums of Kenya, University of Arkansas, University of Missouri and Duke University.

The research was published in the Journal of Human Evolution.  

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT NANOPITHECUS BROWNI? 

 It was the same size as a modern talapoin monkey, the smallest living Old World monkey species that weighs in at only 2 to 3 pounds, about the size of a cottontail rabbit.

Talapoins are part of a large group of monkeys called guenons, which are commonplace in Africa today. Most species are bigger than Nanopithecus. 

They are found in West and Central Africa, are confined to tropical forests, and are thought to be dwarfed from a larger ancestor in response to life in woody, swampy habitats. 

But the fossil was found in Kanapoi, in Kenya which indicates that dwarfing may have occurred far longer ago than scientists suspected, and in very different habitats perhaps for different reasons.

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