Rhinocolobus is a genus of large colobines that inhabited east Africa between 3 and 1.5 million years ago. Rhinocolobus was unique among the large bodied African fossil colobines in that it predominantly lived in trees. It is well known from the deposits of the Turkana Basin with an abundance of specimens from the KBS member (1.87-1.56 million years). They have a distinctive long muzzle and braincase, and the males show large sagittal crests that run along the top of the skull. The individual in this 3D model, where the skull and lower jaw are beautifully preserved, was a female as it is lacking the sagittal crest and has much smaller canines than would be found in males. The African colobine fossil record begins in the Late Miocene with Microcolobus tugenensis known from sites between 12 and 10 million years. There was a radiation in the Pliocene and Pleistocene, which included many larger body-sized colobines including the genera Cercopithecoides, Paracolobus and Rhinocolobus.
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Rhinocolobus turkanensis
KNMER 1485 Age approx. 1.80 Million Years
Digital Capture: Laser Scan 0 Comments 
Forum Order: Primates Family: Cercopithecidae Genus: Rhinocolobus Species: turkanensis Element: Cranium and mandible Locality: East Turkana Year of Discovery: 1972 Other Fossils to View |
