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Paleocene timeframe
65-56 mya
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During Paleocene, fossil primates found principally in....
North America and Europe
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Paleocene species (______) were primitive primates.
Plesiadaiforms
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Differences between Plesiadaiforms & modern primates:
snout
eyes
post-orbital bar
brain
dental
claws/ nails
type of hands/ feet
Compared to modern primates, plesiadaiforms have:
- longer snout
- eyes not positioned at front of skull
- no post-orbital bar
- smaller brain
- specialized dentition
- non-prehensile hands and feet
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Eocene timeframe
56 to 33 mya
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How did primates in the Eocene change from how they were in the Paleocene?
Primates looked more modern
- Eyes faced forwardly
- Post-orbital
- Prehensile hands and feet
- Nails, not claws
- Large cranial (compared to Paleocene)
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Two lineages of Eocene primates:
adapoids and omomyoids
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Adapoids may be ancestral to...
Omomyoids may be ancestral to...
Adapoids --> Lemurs & lorises
Omomyoids --> Tarsiers (and perhaps anthropoids)
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Inferences about Eocene primates:
Some species were diurnal, whereas others were nocturnal
Locomotion: _____
Diet: _____
Absence of ____
- quadrupedality and leaping
- insectivory, frugivory-folivory
- dental comb
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Oligocene timeframe
33 to 23 mya
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Major fact regarding Oligocene
Earliest definitive anthropoids are dated to Oligocene
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Fossil site from Oligocene and their dates
Fayum, Egypt (33-35 mya)
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What was the environment like in Fayum, Egypt during the Oligocene?
A tropical forest
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Two lineages of Oligocene primates
Propliopithecids (Aegyptopithecus)
Parapithecids (Apidium)
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Proliopithecids (Aegyptopithecus) dental formula
Dental formula: 2,1,2,3/2,1,2,3
Same dental formula as modern catarrhines (OW monkeys)
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Parapithecids (Apidium) dental formula
Dental formula: 2,1,3,3/2,1,3,3
Same dental formula as NW monkeys
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Oligocene anthropoids were ____ (nocturnal or diurnal)
diurnal
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Mating system for Aegyptopithecus & Apidium may have been ______.
polygyny
(Aegyptopithecus: Sexual dimorphism in canine tooth size implies polygyny)
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