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Plesiopithecus
''Plesiopithecus '' is an extinct genus of early strepsirrhine primate from the late Eocene. Anatomy Originally described from the right mandible (lower jaw), its confusing anatomy resulted in it being classified as an ape—its name translates "near ape". ''Plesiopithecus teras'', the only species so far identified, was discovered in 1992 by Elwyn L. Simons in Egypt at the base of the Jebel Qatrani Formation at Fayum in quarry L-41. Within two years, a more complete, crushed skull was found, demonstrating that it was a strepsirrhine primate. It is thought to be a close relative of lemuriforms ( extant strepsirrhines), and a sister group to either lorisoids or all lemuriforms. ''Plesiopithecus'' was a medium-sized strepsirrhine primate, with large orbits, a high muzzle, and a skull exhibiting klinorhynchy (a marked angle between the palate and the basicranium, or the lower region of the braincase). Its large orbits indicate that it was nocturnal, and its teeth suggest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toothcomb
A toothcomb (also tooth comb or dental comb) is a dental structure found in some mammals, comprising a group of front teeth arranged in a manner that facilitates grooming, similar to a hair comb. The toothcomb occurs in lemuriform primates (which includes lemurs and lorisoids), treeshrews, colugos, hyraxes, and some African antelopes. The structures evolved independently in different types of mammals through convergent evolution and varies both in dental composition and structure. In most mammals the comb is formed by a group of teeth with fine spaces between them. The toothcombs in most mammals include incisors only, while in lemuriform primates they include incisors and canine teeth that tilt forward at the front of the lower jaw, followed by a canine-shaped first premolar. The toothcombs of colugos and hyraxes take a different form with the individual incisors being serrated, providing multiple tines per tooth. The toothcomb is usually used for grooming. While licking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Djebelemur
''Djebelemur'' is an extinct genus of early strepsirrhine primate from the late early or early middle Eocene period from the Chambi locality in Tunisia. Although they probably lacked a toothcomb, a specialized dental structure found in living lemuriforms (lemurs and lorisoids), they are thought to be a related stem group. The one recognized species, ''Djebelemur martinezi'', was very small, approximately . ''Djebelemur'' is one of five genera of djebelemurids, others including '' 'Anchomomys' milleri'', a fossil primate formerly thought to be related to other members of the genus '' Anchomomys'', a group of Eocene European adapiform primates. Following its discovery and description in 1992, ''Djebelemur'' was thought to be either a relative of European adapiforms or an early simian, mostly due to the fragmentary nature of the lower jaw and two isolated upper molars that may not belong with the jaw. By 2006, it was viewed as a stem lemuriform. Etymology The name "''Djebe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azibiidae
Azibiidae is an extinct family of fossil primate from the late early or early middle Eocene from the Glib Zegdou Formation in the Gour Lazib area of Algeria. They are thought to be related to the living toothcombed primates, the lemurs and lorisoids (known as strepsirrhines), although paleoanthropologists such as Marc Godinot have argued that they may be early simians (monkeys and apes). It includes the genera '' Azibius'' and ''Algeripithecus'', the latter of which was originally considered the oldest known simian, not a strepsirrhine. Originally described as a type of plesiadapiform (an extinct group of arboreal mammals considered to be a sister group to the primate clade), its fragmentary remains have been interpreted as a hyopsodontid (a type of extinct condylarth), an adapid (an extinct type of adapiform primate from Europe), and a macroscelidid (elephant shrews). Less fragmentary remains discovered between 2003 and 2009 demonstrated a close relationship between ''Azi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strepsirrhini
Strepsirrhini or Strepsirhini (; ) is a Order (biology), suborder of primates that includes the Lemuriformes, lemuriform primates, which consist of the lemurs of Fauna of Madagascar, Madagascar, galagos ("bushbabies") and pottos from Fauna of Africa, Africa, and the lorises from Fauna of India, India and southeast Asia. Collectively they are referred to as strepsirrhines. Also belonging to the suborder are the extinct Adapiformes, adapiform primates which thrived during the Eocene in Europe, North America, and Asia, but disappeared from most of the Northern Hemisphere as the climate cooled. Adapiforms are sometimes referred to as being "lemur-like", although the diversity of both lemurs and adapiforms does not support this comparison. Strepsirrhines are defined by their "wet" (moist) rhinarium (the tip of the snout) – hence the colloquial but inaccurate term "wet-nosed" – similar to the rhinaria of canines and felines. They also have a smaller brain than comparably sized sim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolutionary History Of Lemurs
Lemurs, primates belonging to the suborder Strepsirrhini which branched off from other primates less than 63 million years ago, evolved on the island of Madagascar, for at least 40 million years. They share some traits with the most basal primates, and thus are often confused as being ancestral to modern monkeys, apes, and humans. Instead, they merely resemble ancestral primates. Lemurs are thought to have evolved during the Eocene or earlier, sharing a closest common ancestor with lorises, pottos, and galagos (lorisoids). Fossils from Africa and some tests of nuclear DNA suggest that lemurs made their way to Madagascar between 40 and 52 mya. Other mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence comparisons offer an alternative date range of 62 to 65 mya. An ancestral lemur population is thought to have inadvertently rafted to the island on a floating mat of vegetation, although hypotheses for land bridges and island hopping have also been proposed. The timing and numb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aye-aye
The aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis'') is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate. It is characterized by its unusual method of finding food: it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood using its forward-slanting incisors to create a small hole into which it inserts its narrow middle finger to pull the grubs out. This foraging method is called ''percussive foraging'', and takes up 5–41% of foraging time. The only other animal species known to find food in this way is the striped possum. From an ecological point of view, the aye-aye fills the niche of a woodpecker, as it is capable of penetrating wood to extract the invertebrates within. The aye-aye is the only extant member of the genus ''Daubentonia'' and family Daubentoniidae. It is currently classified as Endangered by the IUCN. A second species ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lemuriformes
Lemuriformes is an infraorder of primate that falls under the suborder Strepsirrhini. It includes the lemurs of Madagascar, as well as the galagos and lorisids of Africa and Asia, although a popular alternative taxonomy places the lorisoids in their own infraorder, Lorisiformes. Lemuriform primates are characterized by a toothcomb, a specialized set of teeth in the front, lower part of the mouth mostly used for combing fur during grooming. Evolutionary history Lemuriform origins are unclear and debated. American paleontologist Philip Gingerich proposed that lemuriform primates evolved from one of several genera of European adapids based on similarities between the front lower teeth of adapids and the toothcomb of extant lemuriforms; however, this view is not strongly supported due to a lack of clear transitional fossils. Instead, lemuriforms may be descended from a very early branch of Asian cercamoniines or sivaladapids that immigrated to northern Africa. Until discov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope Carbon-13, 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope Carbon-12, 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Popigai impact structure, Siberia and in what is now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lemur
Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They arboreal, chiefly live in trees and nocturnal, are active at night. Lemurs share resemblance with other primates, but evolved independently from monkeys and apes. Due to Madagascar's highly seasonal climate, Evolution of lemurs, lemur evolution has produced a level of species diversity rivaling that of any other primate group. Until shortly after humans arrived on the island around 2,000 years ago, there were lemurs as large as a male gorilla. Most species have been discovered or promoted to full species status since the 1990s; however, lemur Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic classification is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dentition
Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiology (that is, the relationship between the shape and form of the tooth in question and its inferred function) of the teeth of an animal. Animals whose teeth are all of the same type, such as most non-mammalian vertebrates, are said to have '' homodont'' dentition, whereas those whose teeth differ morphologically are said to have '' heterodont'' dentition. The dentition of animals with two successions of teeth (deciduous, permanent) is referred to as ''diphyodont'', while the dentition of animals with only one set of teeth throughout life is ''monophyodont''. The dentition of animals in which the teeth are continuously discarded and replaced throughout life is termed ''polyphyodont''. The dentition of animals in which the teeth are set in so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donrussellia
''Donrussellia'' is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in Europe during the early Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', .... It is considered one of the earliest adapiforms, with ''D. magna'' sharing features with '' Cantius''. References Literature cited * {{Taxonbar, from=Q17629023 Prehistoric strepsirrhines Eocene primates Eocene mammals of Europe Prehistoric primate genera Fossil taxa described in 1976 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cercamoniinae
Cercamoniinae is a subfamily within the extinct primate family Notharctidae primarily found in Europe, although a few genera have been found in North America and Africa. Classification *Family Notharctidae Notharctidae is an extinct family of adapiform primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers an ... **Subfamily Cercamoniinae ***Genus '' Agerinia'' ***Genus '' Anchomomys'' ***Genus '' Barnesia'' ***Genus '' Buxella'' ***Genus '' Donrussellia'' ***Genus '' Mazateronodon'' ***Genus '' Panobius'' ***Genus '' Periconodon'' ***Genus '' Pronycticebus'' ***Genus '' Protoadapis'' References Literature cited * External linksMikko's Phylogeny Archive {{Taxonbar, from=Q842001 Prehistoric strepsirrhines Eocene first appearances Eocene extinctions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
