Editing Sivapithecus (section)

==Discovery==
[[File:Palaeopithecus sivalensis Teylers.JPG|thumb|left|150px|Jaw fragments of ''S. sivalensis''.]] 
[[File:Sivapithecus punjabicus.JPG|thumb|left|150px|''S. punjabicus'' jaw]]

The first incomplete specimens of ''Sivapithecus'' were found in northern India in the late 19th century.

Another find was made in [[Nepal]] on the bank of the [[Tinau River]] situated in [[Palpa District]]; a western part of the country in 1932. This find was named "''Ramapithecus''". The discoverer, G. Edward Lewis, claimed that it was distinct from ''Sivapithecus'', as the jaw was more like a human's than any other fossil ape then known,<ref>{{harvnb|Gibbons|2006| p=64}}</ref> a claim revived in the 1960s. At that time, it was believed that the ancestors of humans had diverged from other apes 14 million years ago. Biochemical studies upset this view, suggesting that there was an early split between [[orangutan]] ancestors and the common ancestors of [[chimpanzee]]s, [[gorilla]]s and [[human]]s.
[[File:Sivapithecus indicus 3 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|''S. indicus'' skull cast of GSP 15000. At the [[American Museum of Natural History|AMNH]].|252x252px]]
Meanwhile, more complete specimens of ''Ramapithecus'' were found in 1975 and 1976, which showed that it was less human-like than had been thought. It began to look more and more like ''Sivapithecus'', meaning that the older name must take priority. It is also possible that fossils assigned to ''Ramapithecus'' belonged to the female form of ''Sivapithecus''.<ref>{{harvnb|Gibbons|2006| pp=76–77}}</ref> They were definitely members of the same genus. It is also likely that they were already separate from the common ancestor of [[chimpanzee]]s, [[gorilla]]s and humans, which may be represented by the prehistoric [[great ape]] ''[[Nakalipithecus nakayamai]]''. Siwalik specimens once assigned to the genus ''Ramapithecus'' are now considered by most researchers to belong to one or more species of ''Sivapithecus''. ''Ramapithecus'' is no longer regarded as a likely ancestor of humans.

In 1982, [[David Pilbeam]] published a description of a significant fossil find from [[Pothohar Plateau|Potwar Plateau]], [[Pakistan]], formed by a large part of the face and jaw of a ''Sivapithecus''. The partial skull was likely scavenged after death. The specimen (GSP 15000) bore many similarities to the [[orangutan]] skull and strengthened the theory (previously suggested by others) that ''Sivapithecus'' was closely related to orangutans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pilbeam |first=David |date=January 1982 |title=New hominoid skull material from the Miocene of Pakistan |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/295232a0 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=295 |issue=5846 |pages=232–234 |doi=10.1038/295232a0 |pmid=6799831 |bibcode=1982Natur.295..232P |issn=0028-0836|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In 2011, a 10.8 million-year old ([[Neogene]] period) upper jawbone of ''Sivapithecus'' was found in [[Kutch district]] of [[Gujarat]], India. The find also extended ''Sivapithecus''' southern range in Indian subcontinent significantly. The species can not be identified.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Extinct ape evidence from Kutch|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/science-tech/extinct-ape-evidence-from-kutch/cid/1675584|access-date=2020-09-07|website=www.telegraphindia.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bhandari|first1=Ansuya|last2=Kay|first2=Richard F.|last3=Williams|first3=Blythe A.|last4=Tiwari|first4=Brahma Nand|last5=Bajpai|first5=Sunil|last6=Hieronymus|first6=Tobin|date=2018-11-14|editor-last=Charles|editor-first=Cyril|title=First record of the Miocene hominoid Sivapithecus from Kutch, Gujarat state, western India|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=13|issue=11|pages=e0206314|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0206314|issn=1932-6203|pmc=6235281|pmid=30427876|bibcode=2018PLoSO..1306314B|doi-access=free}}</ref>