THE TAXONOMIC STATUS OF PRAEANTHROPUS-AFRICANUS (PRIMATES, PONGIDAE) FROM THE LATE PLIOCENE OF EASTERN-AFRICA

The taxon Praeanthropus africanus (Weinert, 1950), represented by the Garusi maxilla, is valid and reinstated. The morphological pattern of the Garusi maxilla is not that of a primitive hominid, but of a relatively generalized pongid. Since the apelike lectotype L.H.-4 and paralectotype A.L.200-1a of Australopithecus afarensis Johanson et al., 1978 are conspecific with P. africanus, and originate from the same formation, they are reassigned to Praeanthropus africanus.