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Convergent evolution of anthropoid-like adaptations in Eocene adapiform primates

Author

Listed:
  • Erik R. Seiffert

    (Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-8081, USA)

  • Jonathan M. G. Perry

    (Midwestern University, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515, USA)

  • Elwyn L. Simons

    (Duke Lemur Center, 1013 Broad Street, Durham, North Carolina 27705, USA)

  • Doug M. Boyer

    (Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-5245, USA)

Abstract

Aping the anthropoids The recent description of the primitive Eocene primate Darwinius — or 'Ida' — caused a stir, because of claims that it was a 'missing link', close to the ancestry of anthropoids (higher primates) including humans. Palaeontologists were concerned because few consider the extinct group to which Darwinius belongs, the adapoids, to be close to the anthropoids. Erik Seiffert and colleagues now describe the jaw and teeth of Afradapis, a newly discovered 37-million-year-old adapoid from Egypt. This was a close relative of Darwinius. Although detailed phylogenetic analysis shows that the new form — like Darwinius — was only distantly related to anthropoids, it does have a few features that suggest convergent evolution. It is likely that Darwinius and Afradapis are members of a group that convergently evolved some anthropoid-like adaptations in the middle Eocene, but that were eventually replaced by true anthropoids in the late Eocene and early Oligocene.

Suggested Citation

  • Erik R. Seiffert & Jonathan M. G. Perry & Elwyn L. Simons & Doug M. Boyer, 2009. "Convergent evolution of anthropoid-like adaptations in Eocene adapiform primates," Nature, Nature, vol. 461(7267), pages 1118-1121, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:461:y:2009:i:7267:d:10.1038_nature08429
    DOI: 10.1038/nature08429
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