A genus of extinct apes, fossils of which have been found in Europe and Asia and dated to the mid-Miocene (about 9–13 million years ago). Fossils of Dryopithecus and of the similar genus Proconsul are often referred to as dryopithecines. Dryopithecines are believed to have split into several lines, some of which survived to give rise to the chimpanzees, gorillas, early hominins, and orang-utans.