An extinct ape from the Miocene epoch, related to the genus Dryopithecus, representing early ancestors of modern great apes and humans.
From 'Dryopithecus' plus the suffix '-id', a taxonomic designation meaning 'member of the group.' Dryopithecus comes from Greek 'drys' (oak, implying oak-forest dweller) and 'pithekos' (ape).
Dryopithecids lived 25 million years ago and show the moment when ape ancestors began branching away from monkey relatives—they're our deep cousins, and their fossils in European clay prove apes once lived far outside Africa.
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