What very successful Miocene period primate is most likely ancestral to the living apes? (Hint: this genus had at least four distinct species).

Proconsul

Ramapithecus

Aegyptopithecus

Zinjanthropus

Sivapithecus

Proconsul

Explanation:

Proconsul is an extinct genus of primate. It is widely considered to be the ancestor of all the primates that we know at present, such as the chimpanzee, gorilla, gibbons, orangutans, and of course us, the humans.

This genus of primate had mixed characteristics, something like a cross between the monkeys of the Old World and the primates. Simply it can be said that the four species of this genus were transitional species from monkeys toward primates.

The four known species of Proconsul all lived in Africa, and the main difference between them was the size. The period in which the Proconsul existed was the Miocene, between 25 and 23 million years ago.