Sivapithecus

Sivapithecus Temporal range: 12.5–8.5 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Miocene
S. indicus GSP 15000, on loan at the Natural History Museum, London
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	Hominidae
Subfamily:	Ponginae
Tribe:	†Sivapithecini
Genus:	†Sivapithecus Pilgrim, 1910
Species
S. sivalensis S. parvada S. indicus
Synonyms
Brahmapithecus Ramapithecus Palaeopithecus sivalensis

Sivapithecus (lit. 'Shiva's Ape') (syn: Ramapithecus) is a genus of extinct apes. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.2 million years old^[1] in the Miocene, have been found since the 19th century in the Sivalik Hills of the Indian subcontinent as well as in Kutch. Any one of the species in this genus may have been the ancestor to the modern orangutans.

Some early discoveries were given the separate names Ramapithecus (Rama's Ape) and Bramapithecus (Brahma's Ape), and were thought to be possible ancestors of humans.