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Known as the "enigmatic [[hominoid]]", ''Oreopithecus'' can dramatically rewrite the palaeontological map depending on whether it is a descendant of the European ape ''[[Dryopithecus]]'' or an African [[Anthropoidea|anthropoid]].<ref name="Agustí"/> Some have suggested the unique locomotory behavior of ''Oreopithecus'' requires a revision of the current consensus on the timing of bipedality in human developmental history, but there is limited agreement on this point among [[paleontologist]]s.
Simons (1960) considered ''Oreopithecus'' closely related to the early Oligocene ''[[Apidium]]'', a small arboreal anthropoid that lived nearly 34 million years ago in Egypt.<ref name="Simons-1960">{{harvnb|Simons|1960}}</ref> ''Oreopithecus'' shows strong links to modern apes in its [[postcranium]] and, in this respect, it is the most modern Miocene ape below the neck, with closest similarities to the postcranial elements of ''[[Dryopithecus]]'', but its dentition is adapted to a leafy diet and a close link is uncertain. Others claim it to be either the sister taxon to [[Cercopithecoidea]] or an even direct human ancestor, but it is usually placed in its own subfamily within [[Hominidae]]. It could instead be added to the same subfamily as ''Dryopithecus'', perhaps as a distinct tribe (Oreopithecini).<ref name="Delson-2000">{{harvnb|Delson|Tattersall|Van Couvering|2000| p=465}}</ref> A cladistic analysis of ''Nyanzapithecus alesi'' recovers ''Oreopithecus'' as a member of the proconsulid subfamily [[Nyanzapithecinae]].<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Isaiah |last1=Nengo |first2=Paul |last2=Tafforeau |first3=Christopher C. |last3=Gilbert |first4=John G. |last4=Fleagle |first5=Ellen R. |last5=Miller |first6=Craig |last6=Feibel |first7=David L. |last7=Fox |first8=Josh |last8=Feinberg |first9=Kelsey D. |last9=Pugh |first10=Camille |last10=Berruyer |first11=Sara |last11=Mana |first12=Zachary |last12=Engle |first13=Fred |last13=Spoor |display-authors=6 |year=2017 |title=New infant cranium from the African Miocene sheds light on ape evolution |journal=Nature |volume=548 |issue=7666 |pages=169–174 |doi=10.1038/nature23456|pmid=28796200 |bibcode=2017Natur.548..169N |s2cid=4397839 |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1570349/1/Spoor_Nengo-et-al_text.pdf }}</ref> However, other works have suggested a close affiinity to [[Gibbon|gibbons]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pugh |first=Kelsey D. |date=2022-04 |title=Phylogenetic analysis of Middle-Late Miocene apes |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0047248421001925 |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |language=en |volume=165 |pages=103140 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103140}}</ref>
==Physical characteristics==
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Its foot has been described as chimp-like, but is different from those of extant primates. The habitual line of leverage of the primate foot is parallel to the third [[metatarsal bone]]. In ''Oreopithecus'', the [[Anatomical terms of ___location#Left and right (lateral), and medial|lateral]] metatarsals are permanently [[Abduction (kinesiology)|abducted]] so that this line falls between the first and second metatarsals instead. Furthermore, the shape of the [[tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]] indicate loads on the foot were transmitted to the medial side of the foot instead of the lateral, like in other primates.<ref name="Köhler-1997">{{harvnb|Köhler|Moyà-Solà|1997}}</ref> The metatarsals are short and straight, but have a lateral orientation increase. Its foot proportions are close to the unusual proportions of ''Gorilla'' and ''Homo'' but are distinct from those found in specialized climbers. The lack of predators and the limitation of space and resources in ''Oreopithecus''{{'}} insular environment favored a locomotor system optimized for low energy expenditure rather than speed and mobility.<ref name="Köhler-1997"/>
''Oreopithecus'' has been claimed to exhibit features that are adaptations to upright walking, such as the presence of a [[lumbar]] curve, in distinction to otherwise similar species known from the same period. Since the fossils have been dated to about 8 [[million years ago]], this would represent an unusually early appearance of upright posture.<ref name="Köhler-1997"/> However, a reevaluation of the spine from a skeleton of ''Oreopithecus'' has led to the conclusion that it lacked adaptations for habitual [[biped]]ality
====Semicircular canals====
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