Perupithecus
| Perupithecus | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temporal occurrence | ||||||
| Late Eocene | ||||||
| 35 million years | ||||||
| Locations | ||||||
|
Santa Rosa (Atalaya Province, Ucayali Region , Peru ) |
||||||
| Systematics | ||||||
|
||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||
| Perupithecus | ||||||
| Bond et al., 2015 | ||||||
| species | ||||||
|
||||||
Perupithecus is a fossil genus of primates from the late Eocene . According tothe first description ,it existedin South America about 35 million years agoand is considered the oldest evidence of New World monkeys to date. The genus and the only species of the genus to date , Perupithecus ucayaliensis , were first described scientifically in 2015.
So far, only one tooth has been discovered and assigned to genus and species .
Naming
Perupithecus is an artificial word . "Peru" refers to the South American state in which the finds used for the first description were discovered. The second half of the generic name is derived from the Greek word πίθηκος ( pronounced in ancient Greek píthēkos : "monkey"). The epithet of the type species Perupithecus ucayaliensis refers to the place of discovery in the Peruvian region Ucayali , on the left bank of the Río Yurúa at 9 ° 29 '39 S, 72 ° 45' 48 W. Perupithecus ucayaliensis therefore means "Peruvian monkey from Ucayali".
Initial description
As a holotype of the genus and at the same time the type species Perupithecus ucayaliensis , an individually found left molar from the upper jaw was named in the first description . This tooth with the archive number CPI-6486 is kept in the Instituto Geológica, Minero y Metalúrgico in Lima .
In the first description of the genus and type species, fragments of two further molars from an upper jaw and of a complete molar from a lower jaw were also presented. However, since they are significantly smaller than tooth CPI-6486, these three teeth were not ascribed to Perupithecus ucayaliensis . Rather, they were assigned to two separate species, which were not named, but instead classified as incertae sedis (“unsafe”) for the time being.
All four teeth come from the same find horizon , called the Yahuarango Formation , and were identified as evidence that a diversified New World monkey biocenosis already existed in South America at the time this find horizon was created .
Since the four teeth were not directly dated, their age is discussed very cautiously in a document supplementing the first description; therefore it is not older than 41 million years. The summary of the first description also cautiously states that the previously known oldest monkey fossils from South America were "approximately 26 million years old" and Perupithecus ucayaliensis the fossil records of primates in South America were "approximately 10 million years old" Extend past.
Importance of the find
As with Branisella before , the discovery of Perupithecus - the similarity of all four teeth mentioned in its first description with fossils from Africa - is interpreted as evidence that the New World monkeys are a sister group of African Old World monkeys from the Eocene; The genus Talahpithecus is mentioned as possible close African relatives . From this in turn it was concluded that the ancestors of the fossilized New World monkeys in South America had crossed the Atlantic in an unknown way - presumably sailing on driftwood .
Web links
- Illustration of the holotype on nature.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Mariano Bond et al. Eocene primates of South America and the African origins of New World monkeys. In: Nature. Volume 520, No. 7548, 2015, pp. 538-541, doi: 10.1038 / nature14120
- ^ Supplementary Information. Full text