Apidium fossil map
Where fossils of Apidium have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 30 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 30 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 33.9–27.3 million years ago (Rupelian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Parapithecidae |
| Named by | Osborn 1908 |
| Fossil records | 14 occurrences at 3 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Egypt, Libya, Oman |
| Rock formations | Jebel Qatrani, txn:40856, Ashawq |
About Apidium
The genus Apidium (from Latin, a diminutive of the Egyptian bull god, Apis, as the first fossils were thought to be from a type of a cow) is that of at least three extinct primates living in the early Oligocene, from 30 to 28 million years ago. Apidium fossils are common in the Fayoum deposits of Egypt. Fossils of the earlier species, Apidium moustafai, are rare; fossils of the later species Apidium phiomense are fairly common.
Apidium and its fellow members of the Parapithecidae family are stem anthropoids that possess all the hallmarks of modern Anthropoidea. Their ancestry is closely tied to the Eocene Asian group Eosimiidae.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Apidium (revision 1339794453), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q773484.
