Ganlea Temporal range: Late Eocene | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Family: | † Amphipithecidae |
Genus: | † Ganlea Beard et al., 2009 |
Species | |
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Ganlea is a fossil primate from central Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Its age is about 38 million years, living during the late Eocene epoch. Ganlea belongs to the group of anthropoids (i. e. humans, apes and monkeys), and is in the family Amphipithecidae. It is older than any other known anthropoid from Africa, and is the second oldest known from Asia. Its remains consist of teeth and jawbones belonging to 10 to 15 individuals found near the city of Bagan in the central part of the country. [1]
The teeth of Ganlea have many diagnostic features that help to show its relations with other anthropoids. It is thought to be closely related to the genera Myanmarpithecus , Pondaungia and Siamopithecus , both found from the same area as Ganlea. In all of these genera, the canine tooth is enlarged and compressed anteroposteriorly, making it quite wide. A great deal of tooth wear has been observed in Ganlea, which has been viewed as an adaptation for consuming nuts and seeds, similar to the modern Saki monkey. The large size of the canine tooth in Ganlea gives it the specific name "megacanina".
Phylogenetic analyses conducted upon the description of Ganlea suggest that the amphipithecids are closely related to New World monkeys (Platyrrhini) and the extinct propliopithecids. This places it firmly within Haplorrhini. Darwinius , a primate recently described and quickly claimed a transitional fossil of great importance to human ancestry, is a member of the Adapiformes, which has recently been viewed as a transitional group between Strepsirrhini and Haplorrhini. [2] This means that Ganlea is more closely related to modern monkeys and apes than Darwinius is.
Because of its age, Ganlea has been called a missing link that places the origin of all anthropoids (including humans) in Asia rather than Africa as was previously thought. However, doubts have been raised towards the claim that it is the ancestor of all other anthropoids. [3] Other extinct primates such as Eosimias seem to be more basal members than Ganlea. [4] Because Ganlea is a true anthropoid, it has been seen as more likely to be a direct ancestor of monkeys and apes (and thus humans) than Darwinius would. However, the phylogenetic analysis that was conducted on it suggests that it is too derived to have been an ancestral anthropoid, and its close relation with New World monkeys seems to imply that it was not a human ancestor, as apes are believed to have evolved from Old World monkeys.
Haplorhini, the haplorhines or the "dry-nosed" primates is a suborder of primates containing the tarsiers and the simians, as sister of the Strepsirrhini ("moist-nosed"). The name is sometimes spelled Haplorrhini. The simians include catarrhines, and the platyrrhines.
Lemuriformes is the sole extant infraorder of primate that falls under the suborder Strepsirrhini. It includes the lemurs of Madagascar, as well as the galagos and lorisids of Africa and Asia, although a popular alternative taxonomy places the lorisoids in their own infraorder, Lorisiformes.
The simians, anthropoids, or higher primates are an infraorder of primates containing all animals traditionally called monkeys and apes. More precisely, they consist of the parvorders Platyrrhini and Catarrhini, the latter of which consists of the family Cercopithecidae and the superfamily Hominoidea.
Eosimias is a genus of early primates, first discovered and identified in 1999 from fossils collected in the Shanghuang fissure-fillings of Liyang, the southern city of Jiangsu Province, China. It is a part of the family Eosimiidae, and includes three known species: Eosimias sinensis, Eosimias centennicus, and Eosimias dawsonae. It provides us with a glimpse of a primate skeleton similar to that of the common ancestor of the Haplorhini. The name Eosimias is designed to mean "dawn monkey", from Greek eos "dawn" and Latin simius "monkey".
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, constitute an incomplete paraphyletic grouping; however, in the broader sense based on cladistics, apes (Hominoidea) are also included, making the terms monkeys and simians synonyms in regard to their scope.
Hsanotherium is an extinct genus of early ungulate from the middle Eocene, described in 2000 in the Pondaung Formation, Myanmar.
Eosimiidae is the possible family of extinct primates believed to be the earliest simians.
Darwinius is a genus within the infraorder Adapiformes, a group of basal strepsirrhine primates from the middle Eocene epoch. Its only known species, Darwinius masillae, lived approximately 47 million years ago based on dating of the fossil site.
Algeripithecus is an extinct genus of early fossil primate, weighing approximately 65 to 85 grams. Fossils have been found in Algeria dating from 50 to 46 million years ago.
Dermotherium is a genus of fossil mammals closely related to the living colugos, a small group of gliding mammals from Southeast Asia. Two species are recognized: D. major from the Late Eocene of Thailand, based on a single fragment of the lower jaw, and D. chimaera from the Late Oligocene of Thailand, known from three fragments of the lower jaw and two isolated upper molars. In addition, a single isolated upper molar from the Early Oligocene of Pakistan has been tentatively assigned to D. chimaera. All sites where fossils of Dermotherium have been found were probably forested environments and the fossil species were probably forest dwellers like living colugos, but whether they had the gliding adaptations of the living species is unknown.
Khoratpithecus is an extinct genus of pongin primates that lived during the late Miocene in Myanmar and Thailand.
Azibiidae is an extinct family of fossil primate from the late early or early middle Eocene from the Glib Zegdou Formation in the Gour Lazib area of Algeria. They are thought to be related to the living toothcombed primates, the lemurs and lorisoids, although paleoanthropologists such as Marc Godinot have argued that they may be early simians. It includes the genera Azibius and Algeripithecus, the latter of which was originally considered the oldest known simian, not a strepsirrhine.
Azibius is an extinct genus of fossil primate from the late early or early middle Eocene from the Glib Zegdou Formation in the Gour Lazib area of Algeria. They are thought to be related to the living toothcombed primates, the lemurs and lorisoids, although paleoanthropologists such as Marc Godinot have argued that they may be early simians. Originally described as a type of plesiadapiform, its fragmentary remains have been interpreted as a hyopsodontid, an adapid, and a macroscelidid. Less fragmentary remains discovered between 2003 and 2009 demonstrated a close relationship between Azibius and Algeripithecus, a fossil primate once thought to be the oldest known simian. Descriptions of the talus in 2011 have helped to strengthen support for the strepsirrhine status of Azibius and Algeripithecus, which would indicate that the evolutionary history of lemurs and their kin is rooted in Africa.
Djebelemur is an extinct genus of early strepsirrhine primate from the late early or early middle Eocene period from the Chambi locality in Tunisia. Although they probably lacked a toothcomb, a specialized dental structure found in living lemuriforms, they are thought to be a related stem group. The one recognized species, Djebelemur martinezi, was very small, approximately 100 g (3.5 oz).
Afrasia djijidae is a fossil primate that lived in Myanmar approximately 37 million years ago, during the late middle Eocene. The only species in the genus Afrasia, it was a small primate, estimated to weigh around 100 grams (3.5 oz). Despite the significant geographic distance between them, Afrasia is thought to be closely related to Afrotarsius, an enigmatic fossil found in Libya and Egypt that dates to 38–39 million years ago. If this relationship is correct, it suggests that early simians dispersed from Asia to Africa during the middle Eocene and would add further support to the hypothesis that the first simians evolved in Asia, not Africa. Neither Afrasia nor Afrotarsius, which together form the family Afrotarsiidae, is considered ancestral to living simians, but they are part of a side branch or stem group known as eosimiiforms. Because they did not give rise to the stem simians that are known from the same deposits in Africa, early Asian simians are thought to have dispersed from Asia to Africa more than once prior to the late middle Eocene. Such dispersals from Asia to Africa also were seen around the same time in other mammalian groups, including hystricognathous rodents and anthracotheres.
Plesiopithecus is an extinct genus of early strepsirrhine primate from the late Eocene.
Afrotarsius is a primate found in the Paleogene of Africa.
This paleomammalogy list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2009, as well as notes other significant paleomammalogy discoveries and events which occurred during that year.
The Amphipithecidae were simian primates that lived in Late Eocene and Early Oligocene. Fossils have been found in Myanmar, Thailand, and Pakistan. The limited fossil evidence is consistent with, but not exclusive to, arboreal quadrupedalism. In other words, the species may have moved about in trees on four legs, but not with regular leaping as seen in later simians.
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