Which extinct ape genus gives its name to the family Proconsulidae?

The extinct ape genus that gives its name to the family Proconsulidae is Proconsul.

Proconsul was an early Miocene primate genus known from eastern Africa. Fossils assigned to it date roughly from 21 to 17 million years ago, and discoveries have been made in areas of Kenya and Uganda. The genus includes several species that differed substantially in body size, making Proconsul a useful subject for studying early ape evolution.

The family name Proconsulidae is formed from the genus name Proconsul plus the zoological family ending “-idae.” The family was proposed by Louis Leakey in 1963, although its classification and exact position in the ape family tree have changed as new fossils and analytical methods became available.

The name Proconsul was coined in 1933 by Arthur Hopwood. It means “before Consul,” referring to Consul, a famous captive chimpanzee whose name was used symbolically. The name should not be read as proof that Proconsul was directly ancestral to chimpanzees or humans. Its fossils combine features associated with Old World monkeys and apes, and some scientists place Proconsulidae outside the modern ape superfamily. That taxonomic debate does not change the family’s name-bearing genus: Proconsul.