Proconsul africanus

fossil primate

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 13, 2026

Quick Summary

Proconsul africanus was a fossil primate that lived during the Miocene Epoch, between 23 and 5.3 million years ago. This period was crucial for primate evolution, marked by significant geographical and climatic changes that led to the flourishing of grasslands.1

Fossils of Proconsul have been discovered in East Africa, particularly around Lake Victoria in Kenya. These fossils, including nearly complete skeletons and skulls, indicate a primate with a body form resembling modern monkeys, but with a skull that was more monkey-like than ape-like. Proconsul is considered an early ape and is classified within the family Proconsulidae, which includes other genera like Afropithecus and Kamoypithecus. It is believed that Proconsul diverged from the lineage leading to modern apes and humans before these groups began to split from each other.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Louis Leakey
…Kenya, of the remains of Proconsul africanus, a common ancestor of both humans and apes that lived about 25 million years ago. At Fort Ternan (east of Lake Victoria) in 1962, Leakey’s team discovered the remains of Kenyapithecus, another link between apes and early man that lived about 14 million…
Read More
…Kenya, of the remains of Proconsul africanus, a common ancestor of both humans and apes that lived about 25 million years ago. At Fort Ternan (east of Lake Victoria) in 1962, Leakey’s team discovered the remains of Kenyapithecus, another link between apes and early man that lived about 14 million…
Read More

Mary Douglas Leakey
…she discovered the skull of Proconsul africanus, an ancestor of both apes and early humans that lived about 25 million years ago. In 1959 at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, she discovered the skull of an early hominin (member of the human lineage) that her husband named Zinjanthropus, or “eastern man,” though…
Read More
…she discovered the skull of Proconsul africanus, an ancestor of both apes and early humans that lived about 25 million years ago. In 1959 at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, she discovered the skull of an early hominin (member of the human lineage) that her husband named Zinjanthropus, or “eastern man,” though…
Read More