Teilhardina
Teilhardina Ma Early Eocene - Middle Eocene
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Teilhardina belgica | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Family: | †Omomyidae |
Subfamily: | †Anaptomorphinae |
Tribe: | †Anaptomorphini |
Genus: | †Teilhardina Simpson, 1940 |
Species | |
Teilhardina (
Paleobiology
Carbon isotope excursion[clarification needed] suggests that the Asian Teilhardina asiatica is the oldest member of the genus; the youngest is the North American Teilhardina brandti.[5] However finds in Wyoming suggest Teilhardina may have originated in North America.[6]
There are four hypotheses that have been proposed to try and explain the geographic distribution:[5]
- Africa was the origination of the primates and then they dispersed to Europe- Greenland and finally North America.
- Primates originated in North America then dispersed to Asia through the Bering route and later passed through Greenland to finally reach Europe.
- Primates originated in Asia or Africa and dispersed through North America and finally reaching western Europe.
- Asia was the primate’s origination, they then dispersed eastward towards North America and westward to Europe.
At one point a hypothesis arose that the primates may have originated in India prior to the plate collision with Asia near the Paleocene-Eocene boundary and they spread into Asia afterwards.[5]
These hypotheses were re-evaluated using new morphological evidence and earliest records of Teilhardina species from the continents concerned. The researchers concluded that none of the hypotheses fit the pattern that had emerged from their studies.[5] It is now believed that at the beginning of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum Teilhardina dispersed from east to west. The earliest primates migrated across the Turgai Straits from South Asia to Europe, finally dispersing to North America through Greenland.[5]
Taxonomy
Although Teilhardina has been usually assigned to
Species
Teilhardina magnoliana is the earliest known
The discoverer, K. Christopher Beard of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), posited that Teilhardina magnoliana's ancestors crossed the land bridge from Siberia to the Americas, possibly more than 55.8 million years ago, although the age of the discovered fossil is a matter of disagreement. The animal weighed approximately one ounce.[11]
References
- ^ PMID 18316721.
- S2CID 86262940.
- ^ "Oldest-known ancestor of modern primates may have come from North America, not Asia". Heritage Daily. 30 November 2018.
- PMID 16847264.
- ^ PMID 16847264.
- ^ "Oldest-known ancestor of modern primates may have come from North America, not Asia". 29 November 2018.
- S2CID 4311702.
- S2CID 55604250.
- S2CID 54167483.
- ^ A Monkey's Uncle, Smithsonian, May 2008, p. 16
- ^ Nickerson, C. 2008. A long trek for ancient mini monkeys. The Boston Globe
External links
- Nat. Geo., Oldest Primate Fossil in North America Discovered. 3 March 2008; retrieved 22 August 2008