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RESEARCH PRODUCT

On the status of Mabokopithecus clarki

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The discovery of a second specimen of Mabokopithecus clarki at Maboko, Western Kenya, has allowed the reassessment of this enigmatic genus and species. The new specimen, unlike the holotype is complete and undamaged, which dispels the uncertainty about the morphology of the distal part of the tooth, a fact that has always hindered proper assessment of the holotype. It is suggested that the two teeth now assigned to the taxon are teratogenic lower molars of Kenyapithecus africanus . The record of the family Oreopithecidae at Maboko based on Mabokopithecus can now be deleted; only to be replaced by abundant records of a new genus of Oreopithecidae quite different in morphology from Mabokopithecus .