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New Paleocene skeletons and the relationship of plesiadapiforms to crown-clade primates

Bibliographic Data

ID23328378
AuthorsJonathan I Bloch (0000-0003-1484-6931, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, P. O. Box 117800, Gainesville, FL 32611, corresponding author), M T Silcox (0000-0002-4174-9435, University of Winnipeg), Doug M Boyer (Stony Brook University), Douglas Boyer (0000-0002-8697-2999, Stony Brook University), Eric J Sargis (0000-0003-0424-3803, Department of Anthropology, Yale University, P. O. Box 208277, New Haven, CT 06520; and)
Year2007
Volume104
Issue4
Pages1159-1164
Publication date2007-01-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0027-8424 • E-ISSN: 1091-6490
PublisherNational Academy of Sciences (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1073/pnas.0610579104
PMID17229835
PMCIDPMC1783133
OpenAlexW2167408957
LanguageEN
Citations received70
References cited37

Plesiadapiforms are central to studies of the origin and evolution of primates and other euarchontan mammals (tree shrews and flying lemurs). We report results from a comprehensive cladistic analysis using cranial, postcranial, and dental evidence including data from recently discovered Paleocene plesiadapiform skeletons ( Ignacius clarkforkensis sp. nov.; Dryomomys szalayi , gen. et sp. nov.), and the most plesiomorphic extant tree shrew, Ptilocercus lowii . Our results, based on the fossil record, unambiguously place plesiadapiforms with Euprimates and indicate that the divergence of Primates ( sensu lato ) from other euarchontans likely occurred before or just after the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary (65 Mya), notably later than logistical model and molecular estimates. Anatomical features associated with specialized pedal grasping (including a nail on the hallux) and a petrosal bulla likely evolved in the common ancestor of Plesiadapoidea and Euprimates (Euprimateformes) by 62 Mya in either Asia or North America. Our results are consistent with those from recent molecular analyses that group Dermoptera with Scandentia. We find no evidence to support the hypothesis that any plesiadapiforms were mitten-gliders or closely related to Dermoptera.

Arboreal locomotion · Biology · Cenozoic · Clade · Cladistics · Evolutionary biology · Lemur · Osteology · Phylogenetic tree · Postcrania · Primate · Taxon · Theria · Zoology · Amphibian and Reptile Biology · Bat Biology and Ecology Studies · Ecology · Paleontology · Primate Behavior and Ecology

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Unique citing works70
Citations per year3,5
Citation span2006 - 2026 (21)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 66
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