''Europolemur'' is a genus 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 and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

s that lived in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

during the middle

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' ...

Morphology

''Europolemur klatti'' is part of a group of long-digited fossils that most likely approximates early euprimate hand proportions. ''E. klatti'' has a grasping

hallux Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being '' digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being '' pl ...

and there is evidence that it may have had

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 ...

s rather than

claw A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...

s. This implies that stabilizing the tips of the digits and hand must in some way have been important for its lifestyle in its habitat. Relative to the forearm, the hand of ''E. klatti'' was large, which may be related to vertical climbing or posture. The shape of the

calcaneus In humans and many other primates, the calcaneus (; from the Latin ''calcaneus'' or ''calcaneum'', meaning heel) or heel bone is a bone of the tarsus of the foot which constitutes the heel. In some other animals, it is the point of the hock. S ...

resembles that found in '' Smilodectes'' and '' Notharctus''. ''E. klatti'' had an average body mass of 1.7 kilograms.

Dentition

In 1995, two isolated upper molars belonging to ''E. klatti'' were found in an old lake deposit during excavations by the "Naturhistorisches Museum Mainz/Landessammlung für Naturkunde Rheinland-Pfalz". The museum determined that the molars (as well as a mandible with nearly complete dentition belonging to another cercamoiines, ''Periconodon'') were representative of the first primates from the Middle Eocene

Eckfelder Maar The Eckfelder Maar is a former volcanic lake, that was formed during the Middle Eocene around 44.3 million years ago and is thus the oldest known maar. It lies in the southwestern Eifel mountains near Manderscheid in Germany.

in the Southwest Eifel, Germany. ''E. klatti'' has a dental formula of (permanent dentition) and a deciduous dentition of . One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the genus ''Europolemur'' is the lack of a metaconule. The dental anatomy of their genus is described in more detail by Franzen as consisting of "upper canines big and pointed; upper molars without postflexus; postprotocrista prominent; no metaconulus; M3 smaller and shorter than M2; P4 much shorter than broad, with a weak parastyle; P4 with a small and unicuspid talonid and a metaconid present to absent; protocristid of M nearly transversely oriented. Protoconid of P3 little higher than that of P4."

References

Literature cited

* *Covert, H. 1990. Phylogenetic Relationships among the Notharctinae of North America. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Vol. 81, Issue 3, 381–398. *Godinot, M. 1966. Functional Approaches of Paleogene Primate Hands. Geobios. Vol. 24, Issue SUPPLE. 1, 161–173. *Godinot, M. 1992. Early Euprimitive Hands in Evolutionary Perspective. Journal of Human Evolution. Vol. 22, Issue 4–5, 267–283. *Wilson, J.A. 1976. New Adapid Primate of European Affinities from Texas. Folia Primatologica. Vol. 25, Issue 4, 294–312. {{DEFAULTSORT:Europolemur Klatti Prehistoric strepsirrhines Eocene primates Eocene mammals of Europe Eocene mammals of North America Prehistoric primate genera Fossil taxa described in 1933