Shoshonius

Shoshonius lived about 50 million years ago during the late early Eocene era, with specimens found in Central Wyoming. Shoshonius belongs to the extinct primate family Omomyidae, and shares many features with modern-day tarsiers.

Shoshonius
Temporal range: 50 Ma
↓
Early Eocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Subfamily: †Omomyinae
Tribe: †Washakiini
Genus: †Shoshonius
Granger, 1910
Species

†S. cooperi Granger, 1910[1]
†S. bowni Honey, 1990[2]

Shoshonius had large eye sockets and numerous details in the ear region which are absent in other primates except tarsiers, making it too specialized to be ancestral to both tarsiers and higher primates (including humans).[3]

An analysis of the trabecular pattern in the femoral head of S. cooperi suggested that it had a diverse locomotor repertoire, mainly consisting of generalized quadrupedalism and climbing with some leaping.[4]

References
  1. "Shoshonius cooperi". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved February 2012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. "Shoshonius bowni". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved February 2012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. Beard, Chris (March 2007). "Searching for Our Primate Ancestors in China". Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved February 2012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. Ryan, TM; Ketcham, RA (August 2002). "Femoral head trabecular bone structure in two omomyid primates" (PDF). J Hum Evol. 43 (2): 241–63. doi:10.1006/jhev.2002.0575. PMID 12160718.
  • "Drawing of Shoshonius". McGraw-Hill Higher Education. September 2003. Retrieved February 2012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)


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