DOCSLIB.ORG

Ptolemaiida, a New Order of Mammalia-With Description of the Cranium of Ptolemaia Grangeri

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ptolemaiida, a New Order of Mammalia-With Description of the Cranium of Ptolemaia Grangeri Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 92, pp. 3269-3273, April 1995 Evolution Ptolemaiida, a new order of Mammalia-with description of the cranium of Ptolemaia grangeri ELWYN L. SIMONS* AND THOMAS M. BOWNt *Duke University Primate Center, Durham, NC 27705; and tU.S. Geological Survey, Paleontology and Stratigraphy Branch, Denver, CO 80225 Contributed by Elwyn L. Simons, November 23, 1994 ABSTRACT All records of the exotic mammalian family assigned these specimens to a new genus and species, Qa- Ptolemaiidae are known from 182 m of section in the lower to runavus meyeri. A specimen located on the desert surface north middle parts of the upper Eocene and lower Oligocene Jebel of quarry A in 1961 also belongs to Osborn's type species, P. Qatrani Formation, Fayum Depression, Egypt. Previous ten- lyonsi. tative assignments of ptolemaiid affinity have suggested that In 1978, after heavy rain eroded deeply into Fayum badland these animals are allied with the primitive suborder Panto- channels, fossil bones were exposed at what became vertebrate lesta (currently placed in the order Cimolesta). Though fossil quarry V, at the 166-n level of the Jebel Qatrani perhaps ultimately derived from an unknown member of that Formation. Since then, collecting at quarry V has yielded all group, the likelihood that ptolemaiids constitute a distinct other specimens of ptolemaiids (the new species Ptolemaia group is considered, and analysis of all known materials of grangeri and the new genus and species Cleopatrodon ayeshae), Ptolemaia, Qarunavus, and Cleopatrodon demonstrates that except for a single mandible and two isolated teeth from quarry these genera belong in their own order, the Ptolemaiida, I (244-m level). The quarry I specimens were placed in the new described here. The morphologically unique dentition and species Cleopatrodon robusta (4). The very restricted distribu- only known ptolemaiid cranium, that ofPtolemaia grangeri, is tion, even for Fayum sites and faunas, hints that ptolemaiids described. Although Qarunavus and Ckopatrodon show some must have had a lifestyle that significantly constrained their similarities in primitive characters to European merialine paleoenvironmental distribution, an inference bolstered by Paroxyclaenidae (suborder Pantolesta), their affinities clearly their highly aberrant dental morphology. The Ptolemaiida are lie with Ptolemaia and the Ptolemaiida. presently known from 48 specimens that record three genera and five species. No certain record of the group exists else- Paleontolo'gical expeditions to the lower Tertiary badlands of where. the Fayum Depression of Egypt under the direction of the senior author have greatly expanded knowledge of Paleogene SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY North African mammals. At present, 19 families are recog- nized. These families fall into two groups-one of which had Ptolemaiida, New Order. its origin outside Africa, and the other, a smaller and perhaps more intriguing set, had an apparent African endemic origin. Holotype. Ptolemaia lyonsi Osborn, 1908. Diagnosis. Among Among the latter groups are at least some of the various all mammals, the Ptolemaiida most closely resemble the Me- families of early primates, the macroscelidid and tenrecoid rialinae (Cimolesta, Pantolesta, Paroxyclaenidae) of the Eo- insectivores, the proboscideans, the arsinoitheres, and, possi- cene of England and France. From merialines (and therefore bly, members of the aquatic order Sirenia. With these also from Pantolesta and Order Cimolesta and all other orders of belongs the group that forms the subject of this contribution, mammals), the Ptolemaiida differ in the unique combination the new order Ptolemaiida. of the following characters: (i) dental formula = I3/?3, Cl/i, The Ptolemaiida is one of the most restricted of mammalian P2-4/2-4, M3/3 where I, C, P, and M refer to numbered orders known in terms of both its temporal and its geographic upper incisor, canine, premolar, and molar teeth (i, c, p, and distribution. It is confined to an occurrence in or near three m = lower); (ii) incisors small and slightly procumbent; (iii) fossil vertebrate quarries between the 62- and 244-m levels (1) upper canine tall, straight, and piercing, with striated enamel; of the Jebel Qatrani Formation, and fossils of Ptolemaiida (iv) lower canine short and broadly curved; (v) premolars have been found only in a small area of about 3.0 x 1.5 km in bunodont, high-crowned, and increasing in size posteriorly, the Fayum Depression of Egypt. No postcranial bones have greatly hypertrophied in Ptolemaia; (vi) P2/2-P3/3 elongate; been positively identified to date, and all known specimens (vii) P4/4 semimolariform or molariform with at least hypo- total only eight mandibles, two maxillary fragments, a skull conid and either metaconid or lingually expanded protoconid fragment bearing the frontal bones, one skull, and 36 isolated (p4 of P. grangeri possesses all principal trigonid and talonid teeth. cusps); (viii) molars bunodont, somewhat high-crowned to The oldest known members of this order come from in or greatly hypertrophied and decreasing in size from Mi/i to near quarry A in the lower sequence of the Jebel Qatrani M3/3 (excepting M3/3 of Cleopatrodon; M3/3 is unknown in Formation, a site actively worked by the American Museum of Qarunavus); (ix) lower molar trigonids greatly compressed Natural History expedition of 1907. There, the first ptolemaiid anteroposteriorly with large lingual paraconids closely ap- specimen, the type ofPtolemaia lyonsi, was collected, and it was pressed to metaconids; (x) lower molar talonids with ento- later described by Osborn (2). Early collectors also secured conids weak or absent and talonid notch open; (xi) premolars from quarry A right and left juvenile mandibles of a somewhat and molars lacking stylar shelves and lacking lingual and labial larger ptolemaiid. These specimens became part of the col- cingulae; and (xii) lower molars vespiform in occlusal view, lections of the British Museum of Natural History and the with pronounced internal constriction at the hypoflexid and Stuttgart Natural History Museum. Simons and Gingerich (3) talonid notch. The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge Abbreviations: CGM, Cairo Geological Museum; DPC, Duke Uni- payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in versity Primate Center; I/C/P/M and i/c/p/m, numbered incisor/ accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. canine/premolar/molar upper and lower teeth respectively. 3269 Downloaded by guest on September 23, 2021 3270 Evolution: Simons and Bown Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. USA 92 (1995) new skull (DPC 10684, Figs. 3 and 4), the composite dentition, 14 and an edentulous lower jaw (DPC 5434) show that P2-4 and A p2-4 increase in size posteriorly, whereas P4-M3 and p4-m3 B decrease in size posteriorly. P4, p4, and M1-3/1-3 have greatly hypertrophied crowns, equal to or exceeding that in the type ofthe genus,P. lyonsi. The dental formula ofP. grangeri is 13/?, Cl/i, P3/3, M3/3. I2 is a tiny, pointed tooth with a broad crest arising from the base of the enamel on the internal side to a point just posterior c I 1 to the tip of the crown. The tooth exhibits minor posteroin- UII, ternal wear from the tip of the crown to just above the crown The and FIG. 1. Upper teeth of Ptolemaiida. (A) Right P3 (DPC 6281) and base. alveoli of left 11-3 right Ii and 13 show that the right P4 (DPC 6500) of C. ayeshae. (B) Composite M1-3 ofP. grangeri, incisors were slightly procumbent. I1 is slightly the largest shown as a left dentition; right Ml = DPC 10408 (reversed), left M2 incisor, and 12 and I3 are of about equal size. I3 is separated = DPC 3229, and left M3 = DPC 10298. (C) Right m3 (reversed) of from the immense canines by a narrow but deep fossa for P. grangeri in labial (Left) and occlusal (Right) views. (Bar = 10 mm.) housing the lower canines. The upper canines (C1/1) possess vertically striated enamel, Included taxa. The type genus; Qarunavus Simons and and a cross-section of the tooth at the base of the enamel is Gingerich, 1974; Cleopatrodon Bown and Simons, 1987. elliptical but with a strong crest at (at least) the posterior axis Distribution. Fayum Depression, Egypt; 62- to 244-m levels of the ellipse. The canines are very tall, vertically implanted, of Jebel Qatrani Formation (upper Eocene-lower Oligocene). and uncurved (straight and piercing). Minor wear on the P. grangeri Bown and Simons, 1987. Holotype. CGM (Cairo canine tips has just penetrated the enamel; however, on the Geological Museum, Egypt) 42843, left m3 [see Fig. 2; also see anterior face of the crown, strong wear produced by the lower figure 1E of Bown and Simons (4)]. canine has obliterated the enamel and penetrated into Hypodigm. The type specimen and DPC (Duke Primate deeply Center) 695, left ml (see Fig. 2); DPC 2062, frontal bones of the dentine. This wear is even and flat, extends from the tip of skull; DPC 2320, left p4; DPC 2666, left p2; DPC 3229, left M2 the crown dorsad to at least 7 mm above the enamel line in the (Fig. 1B); DPC 3994, right M2 [see Fig. 4C of Bown and right canine, and reaches to near the tip of the left canine and Simons (4)-formerly assigned to C. ayeshae]; DPC 5434, left at least 3.6 mm above the base of the enamel in that tooth. edentulous ramus with alveoli for c and p2-m3 [see Fig. 1C of Alveoli show that P2 had two about equisized roots that were Bown and Simons (4)]; DPC 5458, right p3 (Fig. 2-formerly aligned anteroposteriorly. The anterior alveolus is displaced believed to be p4); DPC 7293, M3 of indeterminate side; DPC somewhat by labial crushing on the right side.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • JVP 26(3) September 2006—ABSTRACTS
    Neoceti Symposium, Saturday 8:45 acid-prepared osteolepiforms Medoevia and Gogonasus has offered strong support for BODY SIZE AND CRYPTIC TROPHIC SEPARATION OF GENERALIZED Jarvik’s interpretation, but Eusthenopteron itself has not been reexamined in detail. PIERCE-FEEDING CETACEANS: THE ROLE OF FEEDING DIVERSITY DUR- Uncertainty has persisted about the relationship between the large endoskeletal “fenestra ING THE RISE OF THE NEOCETI endochoanalis” and the apparently much smaller choana, and about the occlusion of upper ADAM, Peter, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; JETT, Kristin, Univ. of and lower jaw fangs relative to the choana. California, Davis, Davis, CA; OLSON, Joshua, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Los A CT scan investigation of a large skull of Eusthenopteron, carried out in collaboration Angeles, CA with University of Texas and Parc de Miguasha, offers an opportunity to image and digital- Marine mammals with homodont dentition and relatively little specialization of the feeding ly “dissect” a complete three-dimensional snout region. We find that a choana is indeed apparatus are often categorized as generalist eaters of squid and fish. However, analyses of present, somewhat narrower but otherwise similar to that described by Jarvik. It does not many modern ecosystems reveal the importance of body size in determining trophic parti- receive the anterior coronoid fang, which bites mesial to the edge of the dermopalatine and tioning and diversity among predators. We established relationships between body sizes of is received by a pit in that bone. The fenestra endochoanalis is partly floored by the vomer extant cetaceans and their prey in order to infer prey size and potential trophic separation of and the dermopalatine, restricting the choana to the lateral part of the fenestra.
    [Show full text]
  • The World at the Time of Messel: Conference Volume
    T. Lehmann & S.F.K. Schaal (eds) The World at the Time of Messel - Conference Volume Time at the The World The World at the Time of Messel: Puzzles in Palaeobiology, Palaeoenvironment and the History of Early Primates 22nd International Senckenberg Conference 2011 Frankfurt am Main, 15th - 19th November 2011 ISBN 978-3-929907-86-5 Conference Volume SENCKENBERG Gesellschaft für Naturforschung THOMAS LEHMANN & STEPHAN F.K. SCHAAL (eds) The World at the Time of Messel: Puzzles in Palaeobiology, Palaeoenvironment, and the History of Early Primates 22nd International Senckenberg Conference Frankfurt am Main, 15th – 19th November 2011 Conference Volume Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung IMPRINT The World at the Time of Messel: Puzzles in Palaeobiology, Palaeoenvironment, and the History of Early Primates 22nd International Senckenberg Conference 15th – 19th November 2011, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Conference Volume Publisher PROF. DR. DR. H.C. VOLKER MOSBRUGGER Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Editors DR. THOMAS LEHMANN & DR. STEPHAN F.K. SCHAAL Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany thomas.lehmann@senckenberg.de; stephan.schaal@senckenberg.de Language editors JOSEPH E.B. HOGAN & DR. KRISTER T. SMITH Layout JULIANE EBERHARDT & ANIKA VOGEL Cover Illustration EVELINE JUNQUEIRA Print Rhein-Main-Geschäftsdrucke, Hofheim-Wallau, Germany Citation LEHMANN, T. & SCHAAL, S.F.K. (eds) (2011). The World at the Time of Messel: Puzzles in Palaeobiology, Palaeoenvironment, and the History of Early Primates. 22nd International Senckenberg Conference. 15th – 19th November 2011, Frankfurt am Main. Conference Volume. Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Frankfurt am Main. pp. 203.
    [Show full text]
  • Proceedings of the United States National Museum
    LIS T OF ILL US TRA TIONS. IX Pa«e. Apices of ovipositors : o, Polysphincta texaiui Cresson ; &, Eymenoepi- meois iciltii (Cresson); Mandible; c, H. tmltii (Cresson) 389 Apex of ovipositor of Theronia fulvesceiis Cresson 389 Apices of ovipositors: a, Itoplectis canqMisitor Say; b, Apechthis pictir cornis (Cresson) 389 Apex of abdomen of female of Coleocentrus occidentalis 390 Areolet of Lahena grallatoi- (Say) 390 Areolets: a, Tromatohia rufovariata (Cresson) ; b, Itoplectis conquisitor (Say) ; c, Epiurus alboricta (Cresson) 390 Sessile first tergite of Perithous pleuralis (Cresson) 390 Petioatel first tergite of Xorides yukonensis (Rohwer) 390 Mandible of Poemenva americana (Cresson) 391 Female of Labena confusa Rohwer 412 Female of Rhyssella nitida (Cresson) 424 Propodeum of Zonde* picea*u« (Rohwer) 434 Front view of head of Xoi'ides albopictus (Cresson) 437 Propodeum and basal abdominal segments of Xorides albopictus (Cresson) 437 Apical abdomen segments of Xorides albopictus (Cresson) 437 Female of Xorides rileyi (Ashmead) 440 Front view of head of Deuteroxorides caryae (Harrington) 446 Propodeum and basal abdominal segments of Deuteroxorides caryae (Harrington) 446 Apical abdominal segments of Z)c«feroa:ori<Ze« caryae (Harrington) 446 Female of Deuteroxorides caryae (Harrington) 447 Female of Odontomerus canadensis Provancher 459 Female of Phytodietus annulatus (Provancher) 467 Femaie of Phydotietus annulatus (Provancher) 467 Diagram showing relation of dike to vein, Hecla Mine. A, Dike; B, Crushed material with quartz and ore; C, Galena; D, Quartzite wall rock ; width of section 15 feet 481 Showing relation to dikes (A) to vein (B) on No. 1 level of Marsh Mine_ 484 Showing relation of dike (A) to vein (B) on 2,000-foot level of Standard- Mammoth Mine 492 Showing relation of dike (A) to vein (B) on 1,200-foot level of Standard- Mammoth Mine 492 Coleocentrus occidentalis.
    [Show full text]
  • Onetouch 4.0 Scanned Documents
    / Chapter 2 THE FOSSIL RECORD OF BIRDS Storrs L. Olson Department of Vertebrate Zoology National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington, DC. I. Introduction 80 II. Archaeopteryx 85 III. Early Cretaceous Birds 87 IV. Hesperornithiformes 89 V. Ichthyornithiformes 91 VI. Other Mesozojc Birds 92 VII. Paleognathous Birds 96 A. The Problem of the Origins of Paleognathous Birds 96 B. The Fossil Record of Paleognathous Birds 104 VIII. The "Basal" Land Bird Assemblage 107 A. Opisthocomidae 109 B. Musophagidae 109 C. Cuculidae HO D. Falconidae HI E. Sagittariidae 112 F. Accipitridae 112 G. Pandionidae 114 H. Galliformes 114 1. Family Incertae Sedis Turnicidae 119 J. Columbiformes 119 K. Psittaciforines 120 L. Family Incertae Sedis Zygodactylidae 121 IX. The "Higher" Land Bird Assemblage 122 A. Coliiformes 124 B. Coraciiformes (Including Trogonidae and Galbulae) 124 C. Strigiformes 129 D. Caprimulgiformes 132 E. Apodiformes 134 F. Family Incertae Sedis Trochilidae 135 G. Order Incertae Sedis Bucerotiformes (Including Upupae) 136 H. Piciformes 138 I. Passeriformes 139 X. The Water Bird Assemblage 141 A. Gruiformes 142 B. Family Incertae Sedis Ardeidae 165 79 Avian Biology, Vol. Vlll ISBN 0-12-249408-3 80 STORES L. OLSON C. Family Incertae Sedis Podicipedidae 168 D. Charadriiformes 169 E. Anseriformes 186 F. Ciconiiformes 188 G. Pelecaniformes 192 H. Procellariiformes 208 I. Gaviiformes 212 J. Sphenisciformes 217 XI. Conclusion 217 References 218 I. Introduction Avian paleontology has long been a poor stepsister to its mammalian counterpart, a fact that may be attributed in some measure to an insufRcien- cy of qualified workers and to the absence in birds of heterodont teeth, on which the greater proportion of the fossil record of mammals is founded.
    [Show full text]
  • Functional Morphology of the Vertebral Column in Remingtonocetus (Mammalia, Cetacea) and the Evolution of Aquatic Locomotion in Early Archaeocetes
    Functional Morphology of the Vertebral Column in Remingtonocetus (Mammalia, Cetacea) and the Evolution of Aquatic Locomotion in Early Archaeocetes by Ryan Matthew Bebej A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) in The University of Michigan 2011 Doctoral Committee: Professor Philip D. Gingerich, Co-Chair Professor Philip Myers, Co-Chair Professor Daniel C. Fisher Professor Paul W. Webb © Ryan Matthew Bebej 2011 To my wonderful wife Melissa, for her infinite love and support ii Acknowledgments First, I would like to thank each of my committee members. I will be forever grateful to my primary mentor, Philip D. Gingerich, for providing me the opportunity of a lifetime, studying the very organisms that sparked my interest in evolution and paleontology in the first place. His encouragement, patience, instruction, and advice have been instrumental in my development as a scholar, and his dedication to his craft has instilled in me the importance of doing careful and solid research. I am extremely grateful to Philip Myers, who graciously consented to be my co-advisor and co-chair early in my career and guided me through some of the most stressful aspects of life as a Ph.D. student (e.g., preliminary examinations). I also thank Paul W. Webb, for his novel thoughts about living in and moving through water, and Daniel C. Fisher, for his insights into functional morphology, 3D modeling, and mammalian paleobiology. My research was almost entirely predicated on cetacean fossils collected through a collaboration of the University of Michigan and the Geological Survey of Pakistan before my arrival in Ann Arbor.
    [Show full text]
  • Northumbria Research Link
    Northumbria Research Link Citation: Hutchinson, David K., Coxall, Helen K., Lunt, Daniel J., Steinthorsdottir, Margret, de Boer, Agatha M., Baatsen, Michiel, von der Heydt, Anna, Huber, Matthew, Kennedy- Asser, Alan T., Kunzmann, Lutz, Ladant, Jean-Baptiste, Lear, Caroline H., Moraweck, Karolin, Pearson, Paul N., Piga, Emanuela, Pound, Matthew, Salzmann, Ulrich, Scher, Howie D., Sijp, Willem P., Śliwińska, Kasia K., Wilson, Paul A. and Zhang, Zhongshi (2021) The Eocene-Oligocene transition: a review of marine and terrestrial proxy data, models and model-data comparisons. Climate of the Past, 17 (1). pp. 269-315. ISSN 1814-9324 Published by: Copernicus Publications URL: https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-269-2021 <https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-269-2021> This version was downloaded from Northumbria Research Link: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/44997/ Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access the University’s research output. Copyright © and moral rights for items on NRL are retained by the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. Single copies of full items can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given, as well as a hyperlink and/or URL to the original metadata page. The content must not be changed in any way. Full items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holder.
    [Show full text]
  • Resolving the Relationships of Paleocene Placental Mammals
    Biol. Rev. (2015), pp. 000–000. 1 doi: 10.1111/brv.12242 Resolving the relationships of Paleocene placental mammals Thomas J. D. Halliday1,2,∗, Paul Upchurch1 and Anjali Goswami1,2 1Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, U.K. 2Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, U.K. ABSTRACT The ‘Age of Mammals’ began in the Paleocene epoch, the 10 million year interval immediately following the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction. The apparently rapid shift in mammalian ecomorphs from small, largely insectivorous forms to many small-to-large-bodied, diverse taxa has driven a hypothesis that the end-Cretaceous heralded an adaptive radiation in placental mammal evolution. However, the affinities of most Paleocene mammals have remained unresolved, despite significant advances in understanding the relationships of the extant orders, hindering efforts to reconstruct robustly the origin and early evolution of placental mammals. Here we present the largest cladistic analysis of Paleocene placentals to date, from a data matrix including 177 taxa (130 of which are Palaeogene) and 680 morphological characters. We improve the resolution of the relationships of several enigmatic Paleocene clades, including families of ‘condylarths’. Protungulatum is resolved as a stem eutherian, meaning that no crown-placental mammal unambiguously pre-dates the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary. Our results support an Atlantogenata–Boreoeutheria split at the root of crown Placentalia, the presence of phenacodontids as closest relatives of Perissodactyla, the validity of Euungulata, and the placement of Arctocyonidae close to Carnivora. Periptychidae and Pantodonta are resolved as sister taxa, Leptictida and Cimolestidae are found to be stem eutherians, and Hyopsodontidae is highly polyphyletic.
    [Show full text]
  • Mammalia, Xenarthra)
    AMEGHINIANA (Rev. Asoc. Paleontol. Argent.) - 41 (4): 651-664. Buenos Aires, 30-12-2004 ISSN 0002-7014 Functional and phylogenetic assessment of the masticatory adaptations in Cingulata (Mammalia, Xenarthra) Sergio F. VIZCAÍNO1, Richard A. FARIÑA2, M. Susana BARGO1 and Gerardo DE IULIIS3 Abstract. Cingulata -armadillos, pampatheres and glyptodonts- are among the most representative of South American Cenozoic mammalian groups. Their dental anatomy is characterised by homodonty, hypselodonty, and the absence of enamel in almost all known species. It has been proposed that these peculiarities are related to a primitive adaptation to insectivory and that they represent a strong phylogenetic constraint that restricted, or at least conditioned, adaptations toward other ali- mentary habits. However, the great diversity of forms recorded suggests a number of adaptive possibilities that range from specialised myrmecophagous species to carrion-eaters or predators among the animalivorous, and from selective browsers to bulk grazers among herbivores, as well as omnivores. Whereas armadillos (Dasypodidae) developed varied habits, mostly an- imalivorous but also including omnivores and herbivores, pampatheres (Pampatheriidae) and glyptodonts (Glyptodontidae) were herbivores. Morphofunctional and biomechanical studies have permitted a review of previous hypotheses based solely on comparative morphology. While in some cases these were refuted (carnivory in peltephiline armadillos), they were corrob- orated (carnivory in armadillos of the genus Macroeuphractus;
    [Show full text]
  • Fossil Primates
    AccessScience from McGraw-Hill Education Page 1 of 16 www.accessscience.com Fossil primates Contributed by: Eric Delson Publication year: 2014 Extinct members of the order of mammals to which humans belong. All current classifications divide the living primates into two major groups (suborders): the Strepsirhini or “lower” primates (lemurs, lorises, and bushbabies) and the Haplorhini or “higher” primates [tarsiers and anthropoids (New and Old World monkeys, greater and lesser apes, and humans)]. Some fossil groups (omomyiforms and adapiforms) can be placed with or near these two extant groupings; however, there is contention whether the Plesiadapiformes represent the earliest relatives of primates and are best placed within the order (as here) or outside it. See also: FOSSIL; MAMMALIA; PHYLOGENY; PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY; PRIMATES. Vast evidence suggests that the order Primates is a monophyletic group, that is, the primates have a common genetic origin. Although several peculiarities of the primate bauplan (body plan) appear to be inherited from an inferred common ancestor, it seems that the order as a whole is characterized by showing a variety of parallel adaptations in different groups to a predominantly arboreal lifestyle, including anatomical and behavioral complexes related to improved grasping and manipulative capacities, a variety of locomotor styles, and enlargement of the higher centers of the brain. Among the extant primates, the lower primates more closely resemble forms that evolved relatively early in the history of the order, whereas the higher primates represent a group that evolved more recently (Fig. 1). A classification of the primates, as accepted here, appears above. Early primates The earliest primates are placed in their own semiorder, Plesiadapiformes (as contrasted with the semiorder Euprimates for all living forms), because they have no direct evolutionary links with, and bear few adaptive resemblances to, any group of living primates.
    [Show full text]
  • Paleontological Exploration in Africa
    Paleontological Exploration in Africa A View from the Rukwa Rift Basin of Tanzania Nancy J. Stevens, Michael D. Gottfried, Eric M. Roberts, Saidi Kapilima, Sifa Ngasala and Patrick M. O’Connor Introduction The Mesozoic – Cenozoic transition was a period of dramatic global change during which time the Earth’s continents were in the process of fragmenting from a large, relatively continuous landmass to assume a configuration similar to that seen today. The most significant tectonic activity in the southern hemisphere occurred during the Cretaceous-Paleogene interval, when the large Gondwanan sub-regions of Africa, South America, Australia, Indo- Madagascar and Antarctica became increasingly isolated from one another (Smith et al., 1994; Scotese, 2001). Continental dynamics of this scale are not only geologically significant, they also profoundly influenced the evolution of both terrestrial and marine biotas (Forster, 1999; Krause et al., 1999; Sereno, 1999; Lieberman, 2000; Upchurch et al., 2002; Humphries and Ebach, 2004). Indeed, the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition marks large-scale faunal turnover of major vertebrate and invertebrate taxa (e.g., extinction of nonavian dinosaurs, radiation of ‘‘modern’’ mammals and birds; Cracraft, 2001; Springer et al., 2003, 2004; Archibald and Fastovsky, 2004; Kielan-Jaworowska et al., 2004; Rose and Archibald, 2004; Clarke et al., 2005). Numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin, diversifica- tion, and extinction of many vertebrate groups living on, or dispersing through, Gondwana during the Cretaceous and Paleogene. For example, molecular studies have postulated a Cretaceous-Paleogene African origin for a number of higher-level amniote clades, including Placentalia (Murphy et al., 2001 and references therein), Afrotheria (Hedges et al., 1996; Springer et al., 1997, 2003, Nancy J.
    [Show full text]
  • The First Fossil Owl (Aves, Strigiformes) from the Paleogene of Africa
    diversity Article The First Fossil Owl (Aves, Strigiformes) From the Paleogene of Africa N. Adam Smith 1,* , Thomas A. Stidham 2,3,4 and Jonathan S. Mitchell 5 1 Campbell Geology Museum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA 2 Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; presbyornis@gmail.com 3 CAS—Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, China 4 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China 5 West Virginia University Institute of Technology, Beckley, WV 25801, USA; jonsmitch2@gmail.com * Correspondence: smith23@clemson.edu Received: 10 April 2020; Accepted: 21 April 2020; Published: 23 April 2020 Abstract: The relatively extensive fossil record of owls (Aves, Strigiformes) in North America and Europe stands in stark contrast to the paucity of fossil strigiformes from Africa. The first occurrence of a fossil owl from the Paleogene of Africa extends the fossil record of this clade on that continent by as much as 25 million years, and confirms the presence of large-sized owls in Oligocene continental faunas. The new fossil is tentatively referred to the Selenornithinae, a clade of large owls previously restricted to Europe. This new fossil owl was likely similar in size to the extant Eagle Owls of the genus Bubo, and suggests that the niche of large, volant, terrestrial avian predator, although relatively rare throughout avian evolutionary history, may be an ecological role that was more common among extinct owls than previously recognized. Keywords: Egypt; Fayum Depression; Jebel Qatrani Formation; Oligocene; Selenornithinae 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mechanical Function of the Postorbital Bar in Eulemur Fulvus Analyzed Using Finite Element Analysis
    University at Albany, State University of New York Scholars Archive Anthropology Honors College 4-2010 The Mechanical Function of the Postorbital Bar in Eulemur fulvus Analyzed Using Finite Element Analysis Danielle Parisi University at Albany, State University of New York Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_anthro Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Parisi, Danielle, "The Mechanical Function of the Postorbital Bar in Eulemur fulvus Analyzed Using Finite Element Analysis" (2010). Anthropology. 23. https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_anthro/23 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College at Scholars Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology by an authorized administrator of Scholars Archive. For more information, please contact scholarsarchive@albany.edu. The Mechanical Function of the Postorbital Bar in Eulemur fulvus Analyzed Using Finite Element Analysis Danielle Parisi Senior Thesis Dr. David Strait April 27, 2010 1 INTRODUCTION This study examines the functional anatomy of the primate postorbital bar. Postorbital bars are “bony arches that encompass the lateral aspect of the eye and form part of a circular orbit,” (Heesy 2005). They are formed by the dorsal part of the frontal bone and the ventral part of the zygomatic. Postorbital bars are not unique to primates. In fact, historically, they have evolved many times in many different mammalian species. However, they are found in all primates and, thus, are considered a defining characteristic of the family. Nevertheless, while their importance is undeniable, their reason for evolving and their functional role is highly debated among scholars.
    [Show full text]