This document is a student's class paper on the topic of human evolution. It summarizes 10 key stages in human evolution: 1) Parapithecus spp, basal anthropoids from 40-33 million years ago with unusual dentition. 2) Propliopithecus spp, an ape-like primate from 30 million years ago thought to be ancestral to apes and humans. 3) Dryopithecus spp, an ape from 20-25 million years ago exhibiting similarities to chimpanzees with semi-erect posture. 4) Ramapithecus spp, an ape-man from 14-12 million years ago

1. NAME: ANSARI KAUSAR MOHD KHALID
ID NO: 7763
ROLL NO: 08
CLASS: MSC-I (2022-23)
SUBJECT: PAPER-3 (GENETICS AND EVOLUTION)
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY

2. INDEX
SR.NO TITLE PAGE NO
01 Parapithecus Spp 1
02 Propliopithecus Spp 2
03 Dryopithecus Spp 3
04 Ramapithecus Spp 4
05 Australopithecus Spp 5
06 Kenyanthropus Spp 6
07 Homo Spp 7
08 Neanderthal 10
09 Cro-Magnon 11
10 Modern Man 12

3.  PARAPITHECUS SPP
 Parapithecus belong to the group of Fayum anthropoids that are mostly
closely related to the ancestry of New World Monkey.
 Parapithecus is an extinct genus of primate that lived during the Late Eocene-
Earliest Oligocene in what is now Egypt.
 Its members are considered to be basal anthropoids and the genus is closely
related to Apidium.
 They lived about 40 to 33 million years ago.
 Parapithecus had an unusual dentition, which contained no adult lower
incisors.
 The upper dentition likely had four incisors.
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4.  PROPLIOPITHECUS SPP:
 It was an ape-like primate. It lived in the Oligocene epoch about
30 million years ago.
 The fossil of first known ape was obtained from Fayum deposits
of Egypt.
 It was represent by the fossil jaw and teeth.
 No doubt more or less ape-like, its incisors were vertical rather
than directed forward.
 Simpson (1967) presumed that propliopithecus might be the
ancestor of modern apes and man.
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5.  DRYOPITHECUS (PROCONSUL) SPP:
 The fossil of this ape was discovered by L.S.B Leakey in 1930
on an island in Lake Victoria of Africa.
 It is ape, that lived in Miocene epoch about 20-25 millions years
ago.
 It exhibits close similarity to chimpanzee.
 Its legs and heels indicate that it must have assumed a semi-erect
posture.
 Recently, an almost complete lower jaw of a Dryopithecus has
been obtained from Haritalyanga in Bilaspur district of Himachal
Pradesh.
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6.  RAMAPITHECUS SPP:
 It was an ape-man like primate.
 The teeth and jaw bones of Ramapithecus were found in the rocks
of Siwalik Hills in India by G.E.Lewis (1930).
 It lived during Miocene and early Pliocene epoch about 14 to 12
million years ago.
 Fossils of similar features were discovered from Kenya in Africa
called Kenyapithecus.
 They walked erect on their hind limbs. On the basis of these
features, some scientists believed that Dryopithecus evolved into
Ramapithecus which is on direct line of human evolution.
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7.  AUSTRALOPITHECUS SPP:
 The first fossil, Australopithecus africanus in the form of skull
cap of child (called Taung baby) was discovered in a lime quarry
by workers at Taung, in South Africa.
 The specimen was studied by Raymond Dart.
 They lived in late Pliocene or early Pleistocene epoch about 4 to
1.8 million years ago.
 Australopithecus hunted with stone weapons but essentially ate
fruit.
 Australopithecus can be considering as connecting link between
ape and man.
 Dentition was man like because the dental arch was smoothly
rounded parabola and a simian gap was absent
 Thus, Australopithecus is rightly described as a Man with Ape
brain.
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8.  KENYANTHROPUS SPP:
 Found in 2001 west of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya.
 Found in deposits dating between 3.2 and 3.5 mya
 Shows mixture of features, including very small, chimpanzee like
braincase and flat, vertically straight face also seen in much later,
more human-like specimens from the same area
 Distinct from A. afarensis which lived in the same region and at
the same time
 However, some suggest the cranium is too damaged to properly
diagnose
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9.  HOMO SPP:
 It is the genus that includes modern humans and species closely
related to them.
 The genus is estimated to be about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old
evolving from australopithecine ancestors with the appearance of
Homo habilis.
 All species of the genus except Homo sapiens (modern humans)
are extinct.
Two types of homo spp are as follow:
1. Homo habilis
2. Homo erectus
4.1 HUMAN EVOLUTION 7

10.  HOMO HABILIS:
 The fossil of this primitive man were discovered from the
Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania (Africa) by Leakey in 1964.
 Homo habilis evolved in Africa in late Pliocene or early
Pleistocene epoch about 2.5 to 1.4 millions years ago.
 It lived in open grassy land, moved erect and was omnivorous.
 The lower jaw was lightly built and the dentition was more like
that of modern man.
 It had smaller molars and made tools from stones.
 Its cranial capacity was about 650 to 800 c.c.
 It was called handy man or Tool-maker.
4.1 HUMAN EVOLUTION 8

11.  HOMO ERECTUS:
 Homo erectus was the first true man. This primitive man lived in
Java and Peking.
 The first fossil were obtained from rocks on the bank of solo river
in Java by Dubois in 1891.
 It lived in the middle Pleistocene epoch about 5,00,000 years ago.
 It had cranial capacity about 940 c.c.
 It was about five feet in height and walked erect.
 Its face was prognathous and the jaws were massive with huge
teeth.
 The chin was absent, bony eyebrow was present.
 It was more ape like than man like, hence it is also called as Java
Ape Man.
4.1 HUMAN EVOLUTION 9

12.  NEANDERTHAL:
 Neanderthal man was an advanced prehistoric man
 Its first fossil was collected from neanderthal valley in Germany by
Fuhlrott (1856).
 Neanderthal man existed in late Pleistocene epoch abbot 1,50.000 years
ago and were wide spread in Europe, Asia and North America.
 The cranial capacity was about 1450 c.c. roughly equal to that of modern
man.
 They were quite intelligent to use and construct flint tools.
 They buried their dead bodies along with their tools and were supposed
to perform ceremonies.
4.1 HUMAN EVOLUTION 10

13.  CRO-MAGNON:
 Cro-Magnon man was the extinct modern man.
 The fossil was first discovered by Mac Gregor in 1868 from Cro-
Magnon rocks of France.
 They originated nearly 50,000 years ago.
 The cranial capacity was about 1600 c.c.
 They lived in caves with families.
 They were expert in hunting and painting. They made tools and
weapons such as spear-heads, bows and arrows.
 They made ornaments from ivory and decorated their bodies.
 They use hides of animals to protect their body and buried their dead
according to their customs
4.1 HUMAN EVOLUTION 11

14.  MODERN MAN:
 It includes all the human beings existing today on the earth.
 A modern man (Homo sapiens), the species that we are, means “wise
man” in Latin.
 The essential features in modern man include the increase in size of
brain, bipedalism, the use of tools and fire, transition from hunting to
gathering to agriculture and cultural evolution.
 This includes the development of language, funeral and burial rites.
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15.  REFERENCE:
Organic evolution (seventh Revised Edition, 2009) by Dr. N. Arumugam
Organic Evolution by Veer Bala Rastogi
https://www.slideshare.net/pramodgpramod/evolution-of-man-74665654
https://slideplayer.com/slide/7736558
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16. THANK-YOU 