A new genus of Early Miocene hominoid from East Africa: Ugandapithecus major (Le Gros Clark & Leakey, 1950).

It has been known for a long time that the dentition of P, major differs in several features from those of P. africanus (the type species of the genus ) and P, nyarzae (including P, heseloni). Newly discovered postcranial bone s from Napak assigned to Proconsul major differ markedly from those assigne d to Proconsul species from the Kenyan sites of Koru, Songhor, Mfwangano an d Rusinga and reveal that the species concerned differs from Proconsul at l east at the generic level. We accordingly erect a new genus, Ugandapithecus , for the species Proconsul major Le Gros Clark & Leakey, 1950 [18]. A few of the dental and postcranial remains from Moroto, Uganda, are indistinguis hable from those from Napak U. major, whereas others, including the Moroto palate (the holotype of Morotopithecus bishopi) and much of a femur attribu ted to the latter species differ markedly from it. Thus at Moroto there are two genera of large bodied hominoids. It is not known to which of the gene ra the Moroto vertebral remains pertain, but they probably belong to U, maj or. (C) 2000 Academie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Else vier SAS.