Most Primitive Primate Skeleton Discovered

A U.S.-led study shows the origins and earliest branches of primate evolution are more ancient by 10 million years than previously thought.

The study by paleontologists from Yale University, the University of Winnipeg, and Stony Brook University was led by University of Florida researcher Jonathan Bloch.

Scientists compared skeletal and fossil specimens representing more than 85 modern and extinct species. The team also discovered two 56-million-year-old fossils, including the most primitive primate skeleton ever described.

The scientists say their research provides evidence plesiadapiforms, a group of mammals once thought to be more closely related to flying lemurs, are the most primitive primates. The team, using high-resolution computerized scanning, analyzed 173 characteristics of modern primates, tree shrews, and flying lemurs, comparing them with plesiadapiform skeletons to determine their evolutionary relationships.

This is the first study to bring it all together, said co-author Eric Sargis, associate professor of anthropology at Yale. The extensive dataset, the number and type of characteristics we were able to compare, and the availability of full skeletons, let us test far more than any previous study.

The research is featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.