''Notharctus'' ("false bear", from the Ancient Greek nothos (νόθος), "illegitimate", and arktos (ἄρκτος), "bear") is a genus of

adapiform Adapiformes is a group of early primates. Adapiforms radiated throughout much of the northern continental mass (now Europe, Asia and North America), reaching as far south as northern Africa and tropical Asia. They existed from the Eocene to the M ...

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 ...

that lived in North America and Europe during the late to 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' ...

. The body form of ''Notharctus'' is similar to that of modern rats. Its fingers were elongated for clamping onto branches, including the development of a

thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

. Its spine is flexible and the animal was about in length, excluding the long tail. There were at least four different ''Notharctus'' species. Fossils from at least seven other potential species have also been discovered. Notharctus osborni

References

Bibliography

External links

Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2086632 Prehistoric strepsirrhines Prehistoric primate genera Eocene primates Ypresian life Lutetian life Bartonian life Wasatchian Bridgerian Uintan Eocene mammals of North America Fossils of the United States Paleontology in Colorado Paleontology in Nevada Paleontology in New Mexico Paleontology in Texas Paleontology in Utah Paleontology in Wyoming Fossil taxa described in 1870 Taxa named by Joseph Leidy