Life › The age of mammals › Apes
Proconsul
c. 21–17 million years ago· Fossil or site· Human ancestors & us
Well establishedStrong fossil, genetic or geological evidence.
An early ape from Kenya, about 21–17 million years old, with a monkey-like body but no tail.
See it on the Life map →What happened
Proconsul lived in the forests of western Kenya, including Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria. Arthur Hopwood named it in 1933, 'before Consul', after a popular name for performing chimpanzees in British zoos. Species ranged from monkey-sized to roughly chimpanzee-sized. It walked on all fours along branches like a monkey, but it had no tail and had ape-like teeth and skull features. In 1948 Mary Leakey found a remarkably complete skull on Rusinga.
Why it matters
It shows what early apes looked like: a monkey-like body, with ape features appearing first in the teeth, the skull and the missing tail.
The evidence (fossils, genes, rocks)
Skulls, teeth and skeletons from Rusinga and other Kenyan sites, dated by argon methods on volcanic rock; the 1948 skull drew world attention to East African fossil hunting.
Still debated
Whether it was a true ape or a close cousin branching just before apes is debated; researchers have since split it into several genera, such as Ekembo.
Connections (2)
▸Proconsul is an early member of ApesWell established
The connection
Proconsul combines an ape's tailless body and ape-like teeth and skull with a monkey-like way of moving along branches on all fours. That mix suggests the first apes looked rather like monkeys, with ape traits arriving piecemeal. It lived about 21–17 million years ago, early in the Miocene ape boom.
When and how
Western Kenya, including Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria; named by Arthur Hopwood in 1933, with the famous skull found by Mary Leakey in 1948.
The evidence
Skeletons show no tail and ape-like teeth and skulls; family-tree analyses usually, but not always, place it among the apes.
Debates and open questions
Some studies place Proconsul just outside the apes, as a close cousin; its species have been split into several genera, such as Ekembo.
▸The Leakey family found a famous skull of ProconsulWell established
The connection
Proconsul had been named in 1933 from teeth and jaw pieces. In 1948 Mary Leakey found a nearly complete skull on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria, Kenya, the first fossil ape skull ever found. About 18 million years old, it and later skeletons revealed an early tailless ape near the split between apes and Old World monkeys.
When and how
Rusinga Island, Kenya, October 1948, found by Mary Leakey; the skull was flown to England amid wide press attention.
The evidence
The skull, now in the National Museums of Kenya, and many later Proconsul bones from Rusinga; it remains a key reference for early apes.
Debates and open questions
Whether Proconsul is an ancestor of living apes or a side branch; in 2015 the Rusinga species was moved to a new genus, Ekembo.