Various fossil primates have been found in South America and adjacent regions such as Panama and the Caribbean. [1] Presently, 78 species of New World monkeys have been registered in South America. [2] Around the middle of the Cenozoic, approximately 34 million years ago, [3] two types of mammals appeared for the first time in South America: rodents and primates. Both of these groups had already been inhabiting other continents for millions of years and they simply arrived in South America rather than originated there. Analyses of evolutionary relationships have shown that their closest relatives were living in Africa at the time. Therefore, the most likely explanation is that they somehow crossed the Atlantic Ocean, which was less wide than today, landed in South America, and founded new populations of rodents and primates. [4]
The first South American primates gave rise to an impressive evolutionary radiation: more than 120 species in five families. These primates are known as platyrrhine (flat-nosed) primates and are closely related to Old World apes and monkeys (catarrhine primates). Platyrrhines include some of the most popular and acrobatic monkeys such as spider monkeys ( Ateles ) and capuchins ( Cebus ), both of which have grasping (prehensile) tails that can be used as a fifth limb. Platyrrhines also include a wide variety of colorful tamarins and marmosets (family Callitrichidae). The platyrrhine primate fossil record is relatively sparse, quite unlike that of caviomorph rodents. [4]
The presently oldest New World monkey is Perupithecus ucayaliensis from Amazonian Peru, described in 2015. [5] A 2017 study of the fossils estimated the body mass for the various fossil primate species. [6] However, the Ucayalipithecus who might have rafted across the Atlantic between ~35–32 million years ago, are nested within the Parapithecoidea from the Eocene of Afro-Arabia. [7]
Note: some authors, among others Fossilworks, consider Killikaike synonymous with Homunculus and Szalatavus with Branisella , while other researchers consider the genera as different.
The Panamanian and Caribbean fossil primates have been included for completeness.
Age (SALMA/NALMA) | Formation | Country | Family | Subfamily | Genus | Species bold is type | Estimated body mass | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Divisaderan | Yahuarango Fm. | Peru | incertae sedis | incertae sedis | Perupithecus | P. ucayaliensis | 400 g (0.88 lb) | |
Deseadan | Chambira Fm. | Canaanimico | C. amazonensis | 2,000 g (4.4 lb) | ||||
Salla Fm. | Bolivia | Branisella | B. boliviana | 1,000 g (2.2 lb) | ||||
Szalatavus | S. attricuspis | 550 g (1.21 lb) | ||||||
Hemingfordian | Lagunitas Fm. | Cuba | Atelidae | Alouattinae | Paralouatta | P. marianae | 4,708 g (10.38 lb) | |
Las Cascadas Fm. | Panama | Cebidae | stem cebid | Panamacebus | P. transitus | 2,700 g (6.0 lb) | ||
Colhuehuapian | Sarmiento Fm. | Argentina | Saimirinae | Dolichocebus | D. gaimanensis | 2,700 g (6.0 lb) | ||
Aotidae | stem aotid | Tremacebus | T. harringtoni | 1,800 g (4.0 lb) | ||||
Pitheciidae | Pitheciinae | Mazzonicebus | M. almendrae | 1,602 g (3.532 lb) | ||||
Abanico Fm. | Chile | Atelidae | stem atelid | Chilecebus | C. carrascoensis | 1,000 g (2.2 lb) | ||
Santacrucian | Santa Cruz Fm. | Argentina | Cebidae | Cebinae | Killikaike | K. blakei | 2,000 g (4.4 lb) | |
Pitheciidae | Callicebinae | Homunculus | H. patagonicus | 2,700 g (6.0 lb) | ||||
Pinturas Fm. | Carlocebus | C. carmenensis | 3,500 g (7.7 lb) | |||||
C. intermedius | ||||||||
Pitheciinae | Soriacebus | S. adrianae | ||||||
S. ameghinorum | 1,483 g (3.269 lb) | |||||||
Friasian | Collón Cura Fm. | Proteropithecia | P. neuquenensis | 1,600 g (3.5 lb) | ||||
Laventan | Honda Gp. | Colombia | Atelidae | Alouattinae | Stirtonia | S. tatacoensis | 5,513 g (12.154 lb) | |
S. victoriae | 10,000 g (22 lb) | |||||||
Cebidae | Saimirinae | Saimiri | S. annectens | 605 g (1.334 lb) | ||||
S. fieldsi | 768 g (1.693 lb) | |||||||
Patasola | P. magdalenae | 480 g (1.06 lb) | ||||||
incertae sedis | incerstae sedis | Lagonimico | L. conclucatus | 595 g (1.312 lb) | ||||
Callitrichidae | - | Micodon | M. kiotensis | 400 g (0.88 lb) | ||||
Aotidae | - | Aotus | A. dindensis | 1,054 g (2.324 lb) | ||||
Pitheciidae | Callicebinae | Miocallicebus | M. villaviejai | 1,500 g (3.3 lb) | ||||
Pitheciinae | Cebupithecia | C. sarmientoi | 1,602 g (3.532 lb) | |||||
Nuciruptor | N. rubricae | 2,000 g (4.4 lb) | ||||||
Atelidae | stem atelid | Mohanamico | M. hershkovitzi | 1,000 g (2.2 lb) | ||||
Huayquerian | Solimões Fm. | Brazil | Atelidae | Atelinae | Solimoea | S. acrensis | 8,000 g (18 lb) | |
Brazil Bolivia | Cebidae | Cebinae | Acrecebus | A. fraileyi | 12,000 g (26 lb) | |||
Pleistocene | Cueva del Mono | Cuba | Atelidae | Alouattinae | Paralouatta | P. varonai | 8,444 g (18.616 lb) | |
Brazil | Cartelles | C. coimbrafilhoi | 23,500 g (51.8 lb) | |||||
Caipora | C. bambuiorum | 24,000 g (53 lb) | ||||||
Protopithecus | P. bonaeriensis | 22,600 g (49.8 lb) | ||||||
P. brasiliensis | ||||||||
Alouatta | A. mauroi | |||||||
Holocene | La Jeringa Cave | Dominican Republic | Pitheciidae | Pitheciinae | Antillothrix | A. bernensis | 1,500 g (3.3 lb) | |
Long Mile Cave | Jamaica | Xenothrix | X. mcgregori | 5,720 g (12.61 lb) | ||||
Trouing Jérémie | Haiti | Insulacebus | I. toussentiana | 4,805 g (10.593 lb) | ||||
Killikaike is an extinct genus of New World monkey. The genus includes one species, Killikaike blakei, that lived in Argentina during the Early Miocene.
Paralouatta is a platyrrhine genus that currently contains two extinct species of small primates that lived on the island of Cuba.
The Jamaican monkey is an extinct species of New World monkey that was endemic to Jamaica. It was first uncovered at Long Mile Cave by Harold Anthony in 1920.
Stirtonia is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia. Two species have been described, S. victoriae and the type species S. tatacoensis. Synonyms are Homunculus tatacoensis, described by Ruben Arthur Stirton in 1951 and Kondous laventicus by Setoguchi in 1985. The genus is classified in Alouattini as an ancestor to the modern howler monkeys.
The Laventan age is a period of geologic time within the Middle Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Colloncuran and precedes the Mayoan age.
Solimoea acrensis is a prehistoric ateline monkey from the Late Miocene Solimões Formation of Brazil. It is the only known species of the genus Solimoea.
Protopithecus is an extinct genus of large New World monkey that lived during the Pleistocene. Fossils have been found in the Toca da Boa Vista cave of Brazil, as well as other locales in the country. Fossils of another large, but less robust ateline monkey, Caipora, were also discovered in Toca da Boa Vista.
Aotus dindensis is an extinct species of New World monkeys in the genus Aotus from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia.
Nuciruptor is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia. The type species is N. rubricae.
Panamacebus is an extinct genus of monkey known from the Early Miocene of central Panama. Panamacebus transitus is the only and type species of this genus.
Cebupithecia is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia. The type species is C. sarmientoi.
Lagonimico is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia. The type species is Lagonimico conclucatus.
Micodon is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia. The type species is M. kiotensis, a very small monkey among the New World species.
Miocallicebus is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia. The type species is Miocallicebus villaviejai.
Mohanamico is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia. The type species is M. hershkovitzi. Due to the relatively few material found of Mohanamico, the placement of the genus is not certain and four possible families have been proposed by different authors, Atelidae, Callitrichidae, Pitheciidae or Aotidae.
Patasola is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia. The type species is Patasola magdalenae.
Saimiri annectens, originally described as Laventiana annectens and later as Neosaimiri annectens, is an extinct species of New World monkey in the genus Saimiri from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia.
Saimiri fieldsi is an extinct species of New World monkey in the genus Saimiri from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia.
Canaanimico is an extinct genus of medium-sized New World monkeys from the Late Oligocene fossiliferous fluvio-lacustrine Chambira Formation of the Ucayali Basin in Amazonian Peru. The genus was described by Marivaux et al. in 2016 and the type species is C. amazonensis.