Cercopithecoides fossil map
Where fossils of Cercopithecoides have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 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 0 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 | 5.333–0.0117 million years ago (Zanclean to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Cercopithecidae |
| Named by | Mollett 1947 |
| Fossil records | 62 occurrences at 20 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania |
| Rock formations | Koobi Fora, txn:40860, Kromdraai, Olduvai, Swartkrans, Sterkfontein |
About Cercopithecoides
Cercopithecoides is an extinct genus of colobine monkey from Africa which lived during the latest Miocene to the Pleistocene period. There are several recognized species, with the smallest close in size to some of the larger extant colobines, and males of the largest species weighed over 50 kilograms (110 lb).
The type species, Cercopithecoides williamsi, was named by O. D. Mollett in 1947, based on a partial cranium and mandible of a male individual from Makapansgat, South Africa. It has since been found across many Pliocene and Pleistocene sites in South Africa, Angola, and Kenya. The largest species, Cercopithecoides kimeui, was named by Meave Leakey in 1982, based on fossils found in Kenya and Tanzania.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Cercopithecoides (revision 1258121789), 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: Q30595727.
