Laomaki
| Laomaki | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Strepsirrhini |
| Family: | †Sivaladapidae |
| Genus: | †Laomaki Ni et al. 2016 |
| Type species | |
| †Laomaki yunnanensis Ni et al., 2016
| |
Laomaki is a genus of
Early Oligocene in Asia, containing only the species Laomaki yunnanensis. It was described from a right maxilla fragment. Its molars and premolars are somewhat similar to those of Rencunius and Anthradapis respectively. Its placement within the family Sivaladapidae is uncertain; it has not been placed in a subfamily. It has been found at sites in Jammu and Kashmir and Yunnan, having lived around the time of the Eocene–Oligocene transition
.
Discovery and naming
The
Yunnan Province, China. The generic name comes from the Mandarin word lao (lit. 'old') and the Malagasy word maky (lit. 'lemur'), while the specific name is in reference to the geographic location of the remains.[1] As of 2023, no additional species of Laomaki have been described.[2]
Taxonomy
Laomaki belongs to the family
sister taxa.[3]
|
Description
Unlike any other
molars. Both the upper and lower molars of Laomaki differ from those of the former taxon in their extremely crenulated enamel, pyramidal cusps, and sharper crests. The upper molars are also more transverse than those of Rencunius, with pyramidal conules as opposed to bulbous ones, and its hypocones (small cusps found on mammalian upper molars) are smaller. The P4 and P4 premolars being are less molarized than those of Yunnanadapis and Miocene sivaladapids.[1] Its premolars were also compared to those of Anthradapis in the latter's taxonomic description.[4] It has an estimated body mass of 188 grams (6.6 oz).[3]
Paleoecology
The
Late Eocene primate fossil record; by contrast, only one of six primates known from the Early Oligocene in Yunnan is a member of the group, while multiple sivaladapid genera, including Laomaki, are have been discovered.[1] Specimens have also been found in the Lower Siwalik deposits near the town of Ramnagar in Jammu and Kashmir, with a mean age estimate of c. 33 million years.[3]
Within China, Laomaki is known solely from the Ulantatalian stage (a Chinese
rodents belonging to various genera.[5] Early Oligocene mammal taxa recovered specifically from the Lijiawa fossil site include Ptilocercus kylin (a treeshrew), Gigantamynodon giganteus, Cricetops, and Eucricetodon.[6]
During the Eocene-Oligocene transition, the physical environment of Asia changed significantly as a result of
Paratethys Sea retreated from Central Asia, the uplift of the Himalayas continued, and the South China Sea opened.[1]
References
- ^ S2CID 92148255.
- ^ "Laomaki yunnanensis". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ PMID 28012462. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ^ PMID 31882616.
- ^ S2CID 258356935.
- PMID 26766238.