Afrotarsius Explained
Afrotarsius is a primate found in the Paleogene of Africa.The first species to be named, Afrotarsius chatrathi, was named in 1985 on the basis of a single lower jaw from the Oligocene of Fayum, Egypt, and tentatively referred to the tarsier family (Tarsiidae). However, this relationship immediately proved controversial, and in 1987 the animal was placed in a separate family Afrotarsiidae related to simians. A tarsier-like tibiofibula was allocated to Afrotarsius in 1998, but the identity of this bone is controversial. In 2010, a second species of the genus, Afrotarsius libycus, was named from the Eocene of Dur At-Talah, Libya, on the basis of isolated upper and lower teeth. Features of these teeth were interpreted as additional evidence for a relationship between Afrotarsius and anthropoids. A second afrotarsiid genus, Afrasia, was named in 2012 from the Eocene Pondaung Formation of Myanmar. In the same paper, Afrotarsiidae was placed together with the Asian Eosimiidae in an infraorder Eosimiiformes, in the simians.[1] However, some studies indicate that it should be placed in Tarsiiformes.
Evolutionary history
References
Literature cited
- Chaimanee . Y. . Chavasseau . O. . Beard . K. C. . Kyaw . A. A. . Soe . A. N. . Sein . C. . Lazzari . V. . Marivaux . L. . Marandat . B. . Swe . M. . Rugbumrung . M. . Lwin . T. . Valentin . X. . Zin-Maung-Maung-Thein . Jaeger . J. -J. . Late Middle Eocene primate from Myanmar and the initial anthropoid colonization of Africa . 10.1073/pnas.1200644109 . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 109 . 26 . 10293–10297 . 2012 . 22665790. 3387043. free .
- Ginsburg . L. . Mein . P. . 1987 . 1213–1215 . Tarsius thailandica nov. sp., premier Tarsiidae (Primates, Mammalia) fossile d'Asie . Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences . 304 . 19 .
- Book: Werdelin . L. . Sanders . W.J . Cenozoic Mammals of Africa . University of California Press . 2010 . 978-0-520-25721-4 . Chapter 19: Paleogene Prosimians . Godinot . M. .
- Jaeger . J. J. . Beard . K. C. . Chaimanee . Y. . Salem . M. . Benammi . M. . Hlal . O. . Coster . P. . Bilal . A. A. . Duringer . P. . Schuster . 10.1038/nature09425 . M. . Valentin . X. . Marandat . B. . Marivaux . L. . Métais . E. . Hammuda . O. . Brunet . M. . Late middle Eocene epoch of Libya yields earliest known radiation of African anthropoids . Nature . 467 . 7319 . 1095–1098 . 2010 . 20981098 . 2010Natur.467.1095J . 4431606 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130308211417/http://www.carnegiemnh.org/assets/science/vp/Late%20middle%20Eocene%20epoch%20of%20Libya%20yields%20earliest%20known%20radiation%20of%20African%20anthropoids.pdf . 2013-03-08 .
- Rasmussen . D.T. . Conroy . G.C. . Simons . E.L. . 1998 . 10.1073/pnas.95.25.14848 . 14848–14850 . Tarsier-like locomotor specializations in the Oligocene primate Afrotarsius . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 95 . 25 . 24538 . 9843978. 1998PNAS...9514848T . free .
- Simons . E. L. . Bown . T. M. . 10.1038/313475a0 . Afrotarsius chatrathi, first tarsiiform primate (? Tarsiidae) from Africa . Nature . 313 . 6002 . 475–477. 1985 . 1985Natur.313..475S . 4254601 .
Notes and References
- Jaeger. Jean-Jacques. Chavasseau. Olivier. Lazzari. Vincent. Naing Soe. Aung. Sein. Chit. Le Maître. Anne. Shwe. Hla. Chaimanee. Yaowalak. 2019-08-06. New Eocene primate from Myanmar shares dental characters with African Eocene crown anthropoids. Nature Communications. en. 10. 1. 3531. 10.1038/s41467-019-11295-6. 2041-1723. 6684601. 31388005. 2019NatCo..10.3531J.
