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New Paleocene skeletons and the relationship of plesiadapiforms to crown-clade primates.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bloch, JI; Silcox, MT; Boyer, DM; Sargis, EJ
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
January 2007

Plesiadapiforms are central to studies of the origin and evolution of primates and other euarchontan mammals (tree shrews and flying lemurs). We report results from a comprehensive cladistic analysis using cranial, postcranial, and dental evidence including data from recently discovered Paleocene plesiadapiform skeletons (Ignacius clarkforkensis sp. nov.; Dryomomys szalayi, gen. et sp. nov.), and the most plesiomorphic extant tree shrew, Ptilocercus lowii. Our results, based on the fossil record, unambiguously place plesiadapiforms with Euprimates and indicate that the divergence of Primates (sensu lato) from other euarchontans likely occurred before or just after the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary (65 Mya), notably later than logistical model and molecular estimates. Anatomical features associated with specialized pedal grasping (including a nail on the hallux) and a petrosal bulla likely evolved in the common ancestor of Plesiadapoidea and Euprimates (Euprimateformes) by 62 Mya in either Asia or North America. Our results are consistent with those from recent molecular analyses that group Dermoptera with Scandentia. We find no evidence to support the hypothesis that any plesiadapiforms were mitten-gliders or closely related to Dermoptera.

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Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

January 2007

Volume

104

Issue

4

Start / End Page

1159 / 1164

Related Subject Headings

  • Primates
  • Phylogeny
  • Paleontology
  • Fossils
  • Animals
 

Citation

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Bloch, J. I., Silcox, M. T., Boyer, D. M., & Sargis, E. J. (2007). New Paleocene skeletons and the relationship of plesiadapiforms to crown-clade primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(4), 1159–1164. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0610579104
Bloch, Jonathan I., Mary T. Silcox, Doug M. Boyer, and Eric J. Sargis. “New Paleocene skeletons and the relationship of plesiadapiforms to crown-clade primates.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104, no. 4 (January 2007): 1159–64. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0610579104.
Bloch JI, Silcox MT, Boyer DM, Sargis EJ. New Paleocene skeletons and the relationship of plesiadapiforms to crown-clade primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2007 Jan;104(4):1159–64.
Bloch, Jonathan I., et al. “New Paleocene skeletons and the relationship of plesiadapiforms to crown-clade primates.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 104, no. 4, Jan. 2007, pp. 1159–64. Epmc, doi:10.1073/pnas.0610579104.
Bloch JI, Silcox MT, Boyer DM, Sargis EJ. New Paleocene skeletons and the relationship of plesiadapiforms to crown-clade primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2007 Jan;104(4):1159–1164.
Journal cover image

Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

January 2007

Volume

104

Issue

4

Start / End Page

1159 / 1164

Related Subject Headings

  • Primates
  • Phylogeny
  • Paleontology
  • Fossils
  • Animals