Chinese fossils reveal species of thumb-sized primates
Chinese fossils reveal species of thumb-sized primates At a limestone mine in eastern China,
anthropologists have discovered the fossils of two different
species of "teeny, tiny primates", which are smaller than any other
known primate on the family tree. These tiny primates lived about
45 million years ago in rain forest areas, feeding on insects and
sap. The smallest known primate alive today is the Madagascar mouse
lemur, which weighs 28 grams. The smallest of the two primates
found would have weighed about 9.5 grams. Researchers also found
more fossilized bones from a previously discovered third primate
they called "Eosimias". They claim that Eosimias is an early
ancestor of humans. Eosimias and the two newly-discovered primate
species lived together about 40 to 50 million years ago in a time
where the lower primates split from the higher primates. Lower
primates include lemurs and higher primates include chimpanzees,
gorillas and humans. Of the two tiny fossils found, the smaller one
could be below Eosimias on the evolutionary branch and could be a
common ancestor of higher primates and lower primates. The larger
of the two fossils is thought to belong to the higher primates. The
tiny size of the primates means that they would have foraged at
night for food and hid during the day from predators. They would
have had features common to all primates - two eyes facing forward
and soft hands with which to grab bugs. 16 MARCH 2000
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