''Carpolestes simpsoni'' is an extinct
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
Plesiadapiformes, which is one of the earliest
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 and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter including ...
-like
mammals appearing in the
fossil record
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
during the late
Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...
. ''C. simpsoni'' had grasping digits but no forward-facing eyes.
Weighing about 100 grams, ''C. simpsoni'' appeared adapted for an arboreal habitat. One large,
nail
Nail or Nails may refer to:
In biology
* Nail (anatomy), toughened protective protein-keratin (known as alpha-keratin, also found in hair) at the end of an animal digit, such as fingernail
* Nail (beak), a plate of hard horny tissue at the tip ...
-tipped toe opposed other toes, allowing a firm grip on branches. Like other species of ''
Carpolestes'', the dental morphology of ''C. simpsoni'' is specially adapted to eating fruit, seeds, and invertebrates.
References
External links
Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
Plesiadapiformes
Paleocene mammals
Prehistoric mammals of North America
{{paleo-mammal-stub