Palaeontology

Oldest primate skeleton discovered

By T.K. Randall
June 6, 2013 ·  11 comments

Image Credit: CAS/Xijun Ni Known as Archicebus achilles, the species was a small tree-dwelling animal which sported slender limbs, a long tail and is thought to have weighed less than an ounce. The skeleton was discovered in Central China's Hubei Province. "This is the oldest primate skeleton of this quality and completeness ever discovered and one of the most primitive primate fossils ever documented," said anthropologist Dan Gebo.

"Although scientists have found primate teeth, jaws, occasionally skulls or a few limb bones from this time period, none of this evidence is as complete as this new skeleton from China," he added. "With completeness comes more information and better evidence for the adaptive and evolutionary themes concerning primate evolution. It takes guessing out of the game."[!gad]Known as Archicebus achilles, the species was a small tree-dwelling animal which sported slender limbs, a long tail and is thought to have weighed less than an ounce. The skeleton was discovered in Central China's Hubei Province. "This is the oldest primate skeleton of this quality and completeness ever discovered and one of the most primitive primate fossils ever documented," said anthropologist Dan Gebo.

"Although scientists have found primate teeth, jaws, occasionally skulls or a few limb bones from this time period, none of this evidence is as complete as this new skeleton from China," he added. "With completeness comes more information and better evidence for the adaptive and evolutionary themes concerning primate evolution. It takes guessing out of the game."

Source: Science Daily | Comments (11)

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