New fossil weighs in on primate origins. (Paleontology).Excavations in Wyoming have yielded the partial skeleton of a 55-million-year-old primate that probably was a close relative of the ancestor of modern monkeys, apes, and people. The creature was built for hanging tightly onto tree not for leaping from tree to tree, as some scientists had speculated, based on earlier fragmentary frag·men·tar·y adj. Consisting of small, disconnected parts: a picture that emerges from fragmentary information. frag finds. Also, despite expectations, the ancient primate didn't have eyes specialized for spotting insects and other prey. Jonathan I. Bloch and Doug M. Boyer, both of the University of Michigan (body, education) University of Michigan - A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. in Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, city (1990 pop. 109,592), seat of Washtenaw co., S Mich., on the Huron River; inc. 1851. It is a research and educational center, with a large number of government and industrial research and development firms, many in high-technology fields such as , unearthed Unearthed is the name of a Triple J project to find and "dig up" (hence the name) hidden talent in regional Australia. Unearthed has had three incarnations - they first visited each region of Australia where Triple J had a transmitter - 41 regions in all. the new specimen. It belonged to a group of small, long-tailed primates that lived just before the evolution of creatures with traits characteristic of modern primates--relatively large brains, grasping hands and feet with nails instead of claws, forward-facing eyes to enhance vision, and limbs capable of prodigious leaping. The new find, in the genus Carpolestes, had long hands and feet with opposable digits, Bloch and Boyer report in the Nov. 22 Science. The animal grew nails on its opposable digits, and claws on its other fingers and toes Fingers and Toes See also anatomy; body, human; hands. adactyly a birth defect in which one or more fingers or toes are missing. dactyl a digit; a finger or toe. See also measurement. . Unlike later primates, Carpolestes had side-facing eyes and lacked hind limbs designed for leaping.--B.B. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion