Simiolus fossil map
Where fossils of Simiolus 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 | 20.45–15.98 million years ago (Burdigalian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Dendropithecidae |
| Named by | Leakey and Leakey 1987 |
| Fossil records | 2 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Kenya |
| Rock formations | txn:169696 |
About Simiolus
Simiolus is an extinct genus of dendropithecid primates. It was described by Mary Leakey and Richard Leakey in 1987, and the type species is S. enjiessi, which existed during the Miocene of Kenya. The species epithet is a phonetic pun on the acronym NGS. A new species, S. andrewsi, also from the middle Miocene of Kenya, was described by Terry Harrison in 2010. In November 2018, scientists reported the discovery of the smallest known ape, Simiolus minutus, which weighed approximately 8 lb (3.6 kg), and lived about 12.5 million years ago in Kenya in East Africa.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Simiolus (revision 1342131493), 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: Q7517851.
