Overview of the Fossil Primates
Map Showing Location of the Fossil Primates
Map Showing Location of the Fossil Primates
Geologic Timescale
Seven Epochs of the Cenozoic (65.5 - 0 mya) Paleocene (65 mya; primate-like mammals, aka
Plesiadapiformes) Eocene (55.8 mya; first true primates,
Prosimians) Oligocene (33 mya; early Catarrhines,
precursors to monkeys and apes, emerge) Miocene (23 mya; monkeys and apes emerge,
first humanlike creatures appear) Pliocene (5.3 mya; early humans diversify) Pleistocene (1.8 mya; early Homo develops) Holocene (0.01 mya; the present epoch)
General Prosimian Characteristics1. Smaller body size.2. Longer snouts with greater emphasis on
smell.3. Eye sockets not completely enclosed in
bone.4. Dental comb.5. Small simple premolars.
General Anthropoid Characteristics7. Nails instead of claws on all digits8. Loss of the artery running through the
middle ear bone9. Fusion of the two sides of the mandible
to form one bone10. Fusion of the two sides of the frontal
bone11. Larger brain (in absolute terms and
relative to body weight)
General Anthropoid Characteristics1. Generally larger body size2. Shorter snouts with greater emphasis on
vision3. Back of eye socket formed by bony plate4. Less specialized dentition, as seen in
absence of dental comb and some other features
5. Larger and more complex premolars6. Derived square-shaped molars with new
cusp
General Prosimian Characteristics6. Primitive triangle-shaped molars.7. Grooming claw.8. Artery running through the middle ear
bone.9. Unfused mandible.10. Unfused frontal bone.11. Smaller brain size relative to body size.
Plesiadapiforms
PlesiadapiformsPlesiadapis features:
Long tailAgile limbsClaws, not nailsRodent-like jaws and teethEyes at side of headLong snoutNo post-orbital bar
CarpolestidsNorth American genera
ElphidotarsiusCarpodaptes Carpolestes
Nearly complete skeleton of Carpolestes discovered in the Clarks Fork Basin of Wyoming. (a) Carpolestes as it was discovered. (b) Reconstructed skeleton (c) Artist’s rendering.
Carpolestes
Nearly complete skeleton of Carpolestes discovered in the Clarks Fork Basin of Wyoming. (a) Carpolestes as it was discovered. (b) Reconstructed skeleton (c) Artist’s rendering.
Eocene Primates Fossil primates from the Eocene display
distinctive primate features. The first unequivocal primates occur about
50 mya. There are two main groups identified:
Adapids which are usually considered to be ancestral to modern Strepsirhines
Omomyids which are (mostly) considered to be early Haplorhines
AdapidsNortharctusAdapisNecrolemurTarsius
Northarctus
Adapis
Oligocene PrimatesThe Oligocene (34–23 m.y.a.) yielded fossil
remains of several species of early anthropoids.By the early Oligocene, continental drift had
separated the New World from the Old World.It has been suggested that late in the Eocene
or very early in the Oligocene, the first anthropoids arose in Africa and reached South America by “rafting” over the water separation on drifting chunks of vegetation.
ParapithecusParapithecus
belongs to the group of Fayum anthropoids that are most closely related to the ancestry of New World monkeys.
AegyptopithecusSkull of
Aegyptopithecus.This genus has
been proposed as the ancestor of both Old World monkeys and hominoids.
HomunculusSkull of
Homunculus, a middle Miocene descendant of the earliest platyrrhine radiation.
VictoriapithecusSkull of
Victoriapithecus, the first Old World monkey.
New World Monkey vs. Old World Monkey CharacteristicsNew World Monkeys1. Sideways facing
nostrils2. Ring-like ear hole
with no tube3. Dental formula of
2.1.3.34. Grasping tail5. Distribution: Mexico
and South America
Old World Monkeys1. Downward facing
nostrils2. Tube-like ear hole3. Dental formula of
2.1.2.34. Ischial callosities5. Distribution: Africa,
southern Asia and Japan
PliopithecusPliopithecus, from the
middle Miocene of Europe.
The pliopithecoids were the first catarrhines to leave Africa.
Since this skull is of a female, no sagittal crest is present, though strong temporal lines indicate the individual enjoyed a diet of hard plant items.
DryopithecusSkull of
Dryopithecus, the earliest European ape.
The left side is reconstructed as a mirror image of the complete right side.
OuranopithecusOuranopithecus,
possible ancestor of the African apes.
Notice that the face shares many features with living African great apes, including large browridges and a wide distance between the eye orbits.
Gigantopithecus
An artist’s rendering of Gigantopithecus enjoying a meal of the tasty, but tough, tropical fruit known as durian.