Little teeth suggest big jump in primate timeline

PhysOrg ^ | Monday, August 4, 2008 | Duke University

[SunkenCiv]

Just 9-thousandths of a square inch in size, the teeth are about 54.5 million years old and suggest these early primates were no larger than modern dwarf lemurs weighing about 2 to 3 ounces...

Previous fossil evidence shows primates were living in North America, Europe and Asia at least 55 million years ago. But, until now, the fossil record of anthropoid primates has extended back only 45 million years...

In addition to stretching the primate timeline, the specimens represent a new genus as well as a new species of anthropoid, which the researchers have named Anthrasimias gujaratensis by drawing from the Greek word for "coal," Latin for "monkey" and the Indian State of Gujarat where the teeth were found.

"Anthrasimias may be the oldest anthropoid in the world," the PNAS report said -- "may" reflecting the fact that some scientists think slightly older fossils found in a Moroccan limestone deposit also could have been anthropoid, Kay said...

The teeth were dated by identifying microscopic marine plankton fossils of known age in nearby rock layers, he added...

Their PNAS report describes tooth structure differences that would separate Anthrasimias from two other ancient lines of primates whose remains have been found at the same level of the Vastan mine. Of the three lines, Williams and Kay believe only Anthrasimias's is part of the anthropoid lineage that evolved into modern monkeys, apes and humans...

"From the tooth size and structure we can say something about the animals' body weight and diet, because teeth have crests that are differentially developed depending on whether they ate primarily insects, leaves or fruit," he said.

[SunkenCiv]

Tiny Fossil Animal
May Link Lower Primates
With Humans
by John Noble Wilford
March 16, 2000

Fossil bones of an animal no bigger than a shrew and weighing less than an ounce have been identified as belonging to the earliest known relative in the primate lineage that led to monkeys, apes and humans. The wee animal lived 45 million years ago in a humid rain forest in what is now China... The paleontologists who announced the discovery yesterday said the fossil animals, named Eosimias for "dawn monkey," were the best evidence yet for fixing the time and place of one of the more fateful branchings in evolution. Eosimias appeared to be a transitional figure when lower primates, known as prosimians, went their separate way, developing into today's lemurs, lorises, bush babies and tarsiers, while the diverging higher primates, anthropoids, evolved into more prepossessing creatures, eventually including human beings... scatterings of fossils point to the earliest primates of any kind appearing about 55 million years ago, mainly in Asia. But when the two lines of primates diverged had seemed to be lost in the wide gaps in the fossil record... This was further evidence that, although the more immediate human forebears arose in Africa, their earliest primate ancestors appeared to come from Asia. Somehow primates then migrated to Africa. Dr. MacPhee said the Euroasian origin of primates was now generally accepted by scientists, "thanks in part to Beard's work," but "why that should be is itself controversial now."

[SunkenCiv]

Couldn’t find anything else on the Moroccan limestone caper; here’s a topic about a much more recent, 37 million year old anthropoid primate:

Ancient Anthropoid Origins Discovered In Africa
Duke University | 13 October 2005 | News office staff
Posted on 10/14/2005 3:27:55 AM PDT by PatrickHenry
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1502273/posts

[SunkenCiv]

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[LiteKeeper]

YEC INTREP

[wolfcreek]

So what’s the report?

[LiteKeeper]

Please check my profile page for an explanation of my use of the term “INTREP”

[wolfcreek]

I visited your site. Are you suggesting the info in this thread goes against Biblical doctrine.

[LiteKeeper]

Sure ‘nuf

[SuzyQue]

Bookmark.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks, I appreciate that you’ve managed to keep that low key.

[wolfcreek]

Thanks for keeping me in the dark!

Could someone elaborate?

[SunkenCiv]

I turned out the lights when I left the topic. ;’)

Too many times cre/vo firefights start up in topics like this.

And each and every one of them is the same, almost as if ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. ;’)

But anyway, you and LiteKeeper didn’t do that, which was excellent.

[wolfcreek]

Thanks for the reply!

I don’t think I want to get into that conversation/argument.

Lets just say we didn’t play that game in my Church upbringing. Besides, I have a rockhound reality.

[LiteKeeper]

Ascribing the age of the Earth to "millions" of years is a faith statement - it is based on the assumption that the Earth is in fact that old. There is no empirical evidence available that warrants that conclusion - it is based on assumptions. I happen to disagree with those assumptions.

'nuf said.