Miocallicebus
Miocallicebus is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene, about 13.8 to 11.8 million years ago (Laventan age). Fossils were found in La Venta, Colombia, part of the Honda Group. The type species is Miocallicebus villaviejai. The name combines Mio- (Miocene) with Callicebus, the name of living titis, and villaviejai refers to the nearby village Villavieja.
In 1997, researchers from Kyoto University recovered a fossil at the Bolivia Site in the Tatacoa Desert, Huila, in south-central Colombia. The specimen includes a right upper jaw fragment with the root of M1, a complete M2, and a badly damaged M3. Miocallicebus has not been found in the La Venta “Monkey Beds.” The fossil was found just above the Tatacoa Sandstone Beds of the La Victoria Formation, which is dated to the Laventan (roughly 13.9–12.4 million years ago). The animal is estimated to weigh about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds).
Miocallicebus is placed in the family Pitheciidae, subfamily Callicebinae. It is possible that Miocallicebus may actually belong in the modern genus Callicebus, in which case the species would be moved to Callicebus villaviejai. The split between the lineages leading to Cebupithecia and Callicebus is dated to around 15.2 million years ago.
The Honda Group is the richest fossil primate site in South America. It is thought that the monkeys there lived in habitats connected to the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and La Venta itself was probably a seasonally dry forest.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:34 (CET).