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Article: New fossils push back primate origins.
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- January 12, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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New Fossils Push Back Primate Origins
The discovery of four skulls belonging to mouse-sized, saucer-eyed primates that lived in North America 50 million years ago has dramatically pushed back estimates of when early primate groups first evolved.
Anatomical features of the nearly complete fossil skulls indicate that this animal, called Shoshonius cooperi, was a primitive form of tarsier -- a tree-dwelling primate today found only in the forests of Southeast Asia. Thus, the discoverers conclude in the Jan. 3 NATURE, Shoshonius and modern tarsiers evolved from a common ancestor that split off from the forerunners of simians -- monkeys, apes and humans -- ...