Thanks for the ping. It is a beautiful specimen, for sure. Still, this seems like an awful lot of hype for one specimen. Lots we still don’t know about that far back in time.
I watched this on History last night. Their analysis was that the fossil was a transitional link between lemurs and monkeys. This was based on the absence of two lemur-like characteristics (grooming claw and tooth comb) but the presence of grasping 1st toes on front and back paws, finger/toe nails, and large orbits.
It was a very well preserved and intact fossil, 95% complete skeleton, but flattened. Much of what they based their conclusions on was computer reconstruction, which as we know can be used to make Tom Hanks appear to be receiving the Medal Of Honor from LBJ, or a boy wizard flying on a broom.
It’s a story with a short shelf life, and its movers and shakers want to maximize attention and interest.