cercopithecoid

Noun

cercopithecoid (plural cercopithecoids)

1. Any species of the superfamily Cercopithecoidea (the Old World monkeys).
   • In East Africa the first evidence of cercopithecoid diversity appeared in the Pliocene at sites such as Lothagam, East Turkana, and Laetoli where papionins were the dominant cercopithecoids.2005, Meave G. Leakey, “3: Evolution of Theropithecus in the Turkana Basin”, in Nina G. Jablonski, editor, Theropithecus: The Rise and Fall of a Primate Genus, page 117
   • Concerning systematics, while extinct monkeys from the early and middle Miocene of Africa are widely accepted as true cercopithecoids, there remains some discussion as to their precise phylogenetic position.2006, Tom Gundling, Andrew Hill, “7: Geological context of fossil Cercopithecoidea from eastern Africa”, in Paul F. Whitehead, Clifford J. Jolly, editors, Old World Monkeys, page 181