Oreopithecus

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Oreopithecus (from the Greek ὄρος, oros and πίθηκος, pithekos, meaning "hill-ape") is an extinct genus of ape from the Miocene epoch whose fossils have been found in today's Tuscany and Sardinia in Italy. It existed 9–7 million years ago in that region when it formed an isolated island in a chain of islands stretching from central Europe to northern Africa in what was becoming the Mediterranean Sea. Oreopithecus was one of many European immigrants that settled this area in the Vallesian–Turolian transition and one of few hominoids, together with Sivapithecus in Asia, to survive the so-called Vallesian Crisis. To date, dozens of individuals have been discovered at the Tuscan localities of Montebamboli, Montemassi, Casteani, Ribolla and, most notably, in the fossil-rich lignite mine in the Baccinello Basin, making it one of the best-represented fossil apes.