Proconsul fossil map
Where fossils of Proconsul have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 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 15 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 | 27.3–11.63 million years ago (Chattian to Serravallian) |
| Periods | Paleogene, Neogene |
| Family | Proconsulidae |
| Named by | Hopwood 1933 |
| Fossil records | 26 occurrences at 9 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Kenya, Uganda |
| Rock formations | Ngorora, Maboko, Tiim, txn:132667, Hiwegi, Upper Koru Series |
About Proconsul
Proconsul is an extinct genus of primates that existed from 21 to 17 million years ago during the Miocene epoch. Fossil remains are present in Eastern Africa, including Kenya and Uganda. Four species have been classified to date: P. africanus, P. gitongai, P. major and P. meswae. The four species differ mainly in body size. Environmental reconstructions for the Early Miocene Proconsul sites are still tentative and range from forested environments to more open, arid grasslands.
The gibbon and great apes, including humans, are held in evolutionary biology to share a common ancestral lineage, which may have included Proconsul. Its name, meaning "before Consul" (Consul being a certain chimpanzee that, at the time of the genus's discovery, was on display in London), implies that it is ancestral to the chimpanzee. It might also be ancestral to the rest of the apes.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Proconsul (mammal) (revision 1367471430), 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: Q131791.
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