Theropithecus
| Theropithecus Temporal range: Pliocene-Recent | |
|---|---|
| Male gelada | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Subfamily: | Cercopithecinae |
| Tribe: | Papionini |
| Genus: | Theropithecus I. Geoffroy, 1843 |
| Type species | |
| Theropithecus gelada (Rüppell, 1835) | |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
Theropithecus is a genus of primates in the family Cercopithecidae. It contains a single living species, the gelada (Theropithecus gelada), native to the Ethiopian Highlands.
Additional species are known from fossils, including:
The earliest remains probably belonging to the genus are from Kanapoi, Kenya, dating to the early Pliocene, around 4.1-4.2 million years ago.
Although most remains are known from Africa, during the Early Pleistocene the genus had a broader distribution ranging from southern Europe, including Spain and possibly Italy, to the Indian subcontinent.