Mesopithecus fossil map
Where fossils of Mesopithecus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 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 5 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 | 13.82–2.58 million years ago (Serravallian to Piacenzian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Cercopithecidae |
| Named by | Wagner 1839 |
| Fossil records | 40 occurrences at 18 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Afghanistan, North Macedonia |
| Rock formations | txn:40860, Dytiko, Pikermi, Khurdkabul, Triglia, Lefkon |
About Mesopithecus
Mesopithecus ("middle monkey" for being between Hylobates and Semnopithecus in build) is an extinct genus of Old World monkey belonging to the subfamily Colobinae that lived in Eurasia during the Late Miocene and Pliocene epochs, around 8.2-2.6 million years ago.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Mesopithecus (revision 1359701479), 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: Q1944531.
