{{Short description|Extinct species of Old World monkey}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|3.3|2.0}} Pliocene | image = Theropithecus brumpti AMNH.jpg | image_caption = Skull cast of ''T. brumpti'' | extinct = yes | genus = Theropithecus | species = brumpti | authority = Arambourg, 1947 }}
'''''Theropithecus brumpti''''' was a large terrestrial monkey that lived in the mid- to late Pliocene. It is an extinct species of papionin.
This fossil primate is mostly known from skulls and mandibles found in Pliocene deposits excavated in the Shungura Formation, at the Omo River, Ethiopia. Both ''T. brumpti'' and the related extant gelada (''T. gelada'') were related to the various baboon species.<ref name=TurnerAnton>{{cite book | author = Turner, Alan |author2=Antón, Mauricio | title = Evolving Eden, An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large-Mammal Fauna | publisher = Columbia University Press | year = 2004 | location = New York | page = 55}}</ref>
==Description== [[File:Theropithecus brumpti skull cast (cropped).jpg|thumb|''T. brumpti'' skull cast of a specimen from Ethiopia, at the AMNH]] thumb|Skull Similar to most other such animals, ''T. brumpti'' was quadrupedal with highly dexterous, manipulative hands. Males grew very large, as evidenced by a specimen found at Lomekwi, Kenya, which was estimated to have weighed about {{cvt|44|kg|-1}}.<ref name="JablonskiLeakey">{{cite journal |author=Jablonski, Nina G. |author2=Leakey, Meave G. |author2-link=Meave Leakey |author3=Klarey, Christopher |author4=Antón, Mauricio |date=December 2002 |title=A New Skeleton of ''Theropithecus brumpti'' (Primates: Cercopithecidae) from Lomekwi, West Turkana, Kenya |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=43 |issue=6 |pages=887–923 |bibcode=2002JHumE..43..887J |doi=10.1006/jhev.2002.0607 |pmid=12473488}}</ref> In comparison, the male gelada averages around 20 kilograms.<ref name="Hiller">{{cite web | last1 = Hiller | first1 = C. | year = 2000 | url = http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Theropithecus_gelada.html | title = "Theropithecus gelada" (On-line) | accessdate = 2009-04-12 | work = Animal Diversity Web}}</ref> In addition, the male was most likely very colourful, with the female smaller and less colorful; the species displayed a high degree of sexual dimorphism.<ref name="JablonskiLeakey" /> Like most papionins, the male possessed large canine teeth, primarily for display.<ref name="TurnerAnton" />
==Diet== ''T. brumpti'' has been assumed to be a folivore.<ref name="JablonskiLeakey" /> Large muscles in the long muzzle suggest ''T. brumpti'' ate tough vegetation, and was capable of breaking and eating large nuts.<ref name="TurnerAnton" /> An analysis of δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>44/42</sup>Ca values in ''T. brumpti'' has found that it occupied a wide dietary niche, grazing in open environments but also venturing into more mixed environments. This analysis also found evidence that its diet included bone.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Jeremy E. |last2=Tacail |first2=Théo |last3=Braga |first3=José |last4=Cerling |first4=Thure E. |last5=Balter |first5=Vincent |date=17 July 2020 |title=Calcium isotopic ecology of Turkana Basin hominins |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17427-7 |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=3587 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-17427-7 |issn=2041-1723 |access-date=13 January 2026 |via=Nature|pmc=7367883 }}</ref>
==Habitat== This species was largely terrestrial, with the size of adult males making any significant arboreal lifestyle unlikely. From the locations of ''T. brumpti'' finds, the species lived in riverine forest habitats.<ref name="JablonskiLeakey" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7783300}}
Category:Pliocene primates Category:Prehistoric monkeys Category:Papionini Category:Pliocene mammals of Africa Category:Fossil taxa described in 1947