Question

Dryopithecus was
A. Early human
B. Human ancestor
C. Ape ancestor
D. Ancestor of both ape and humans

Answer 1

Dryopithecus is a species from the middle-late Miocene, about 12.5- 11.1 million years ago. It was found in the boundary of Europe. Several forms of Dryopithecus are known that include small, medium, and large-sized organisms.

Complete Answer:
Dryopithecus is an extinct primate. Dryopithecus is generalized in structure and it lacks most of the specialized structures that distinguish human beings from other living primates. The canine teeth of Dryopithecus are larger than that of humans. They were tree-dwelling species. They spent most of their life in trees. Their diet majorly consisted of fruits.
1. Early human- The early human included Homo habilis that lived about 1.5 million years ago and Homo erectus that lived about 2 million years ago. Homo neanderthalensis that appeared about 200,000 years ago and disappeared about 400,000 years before. The Denisovans lived about 200,00 and 500,00 years ago. Homo floresiensis were present on the island at least 700,00 years ago. Homo naledi were alive before 300,000 and 200,000 years ago.
2. Human ancestor- Australopithecus afarensis is known as the human ancestor. It lived about 3.9 to 2.9 million years ago in the Pliocene of East Africa.
3. Ape ancestor- The ancestors of apes were smaller than apes and about the size of a gibbon It was called the proto-ape.
4. The ancestor of ape and human- The common ancestor of ape and human is Dryopithecus that has characters both similar to humans and apes but few characters do not match with the characters of apes and humans.
Thus, the right option is D.

Note: Humans and monkeys are primates. But humans are not descended from the monkeys or from other primates that exist today. Humans share a common ape ancestor with chimpanzees. They lived about 6-8 million years ago. Humans evolved along with orangutans, chimpanzees and gorillas. Humans share about 99% of DNA with that of chimpanzees.