Paleontologists discover 55 million year old monkey fossil in China
Posted on: Friday, 2 January 2004, 06:00 CST
Paleontologists discover 55 million year old monkey fossil in China
BEIJING, Jan.1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists have discovered a 55 million-year-old fossil that they believe provides important information about the evolution of monkeys and humans.
The four scientists working at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published their findings in the internationally renowned magazine "Nature".
Professor Li Chuankui said the fossil, which was discovered in China's Hunan Province, was a breakthrough focusing on the origin and evolution of euprimates animals, which include monkeys, apes and human beings.
Such fossils have been found before in Europe and north America, but never in China.
The partially preserved euprimate skull with nearly complete upper and lower jaws and teeth constitutes the first discovery of the genus in Asia. The new species is estimated to date back 54.97 million years. The discovery casts new light on the debate concerning the adaptive origin of euprimates, and suggests that the last common ancestor of euprimates was probably a small diurnal, visually oriented predator.
Related Articles
- Soot's Role In Himalayan Warming
- Study On Land Plant Fossils Shows Paleoasian Ocean Disappeared About 251 Million Years Ago
- Researchers Shed Light On Pterodactyl Secrets
- Fossils: Myths, Mystery, and Magic
- Millions-Year-Old Fossil of Pregnant Rhinoceros Excavated in E. China
- Expert to Present Program on Dinosaurs, Birds
- China Fossils Contradict Explosion-of-Species Theory
- Protect rare fossils, experts say
- Fossils of over 120 million-year-old angiosperm plant discovered in NE China
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds