Algeripithecus
Algeripithecus is an extinct genus of early fossil primate, weighing approximately . Fossils have been found in Algeria dating from 50 to 46 million years ago. It was once commonly thought to be one of the oldest simian primates (a group that includes monkeys and apes), and was crucial to the hypothesis that simians originated in Africa. Research on more complete specimens suggest it was instead a strepsirrhine primate, more closely related to living lemurs and lorisoids. However, this is still disputed. Discovery Fragmentary fossils were first found in the Glib Formation at the Glib Zegdou locality in Algeria and dated to the Early to Middle Eocene, 50 to 46 million years ago. The holotype was an upper left molar (M2). Evolutionary history and taxonomy First described in the journal Nature by Marc Godinot and Mohamed Mahboubi in 1992, Algeripithecus was once widely considered one of the oldest known fossil simian primates, giving weight to the African origins hypothesis for simians. It was originally interpreted as a propliopithecid, but was also seen as a proteopithecid by Godinot in 1994 and as a parapithecoid by Seiffert et al. starting in 2005. Based on the discovery of additional fossil teeth and a