Discovery of two archaic primates that lived in Alberta during the Paleocene

These discoveries provide more information regarding the diversity of mammals that lived following the extinction of the dinosaurs.

A co-author of the study and director of conservation and research at the royal museum Tyrrell from paleontology to drum lighter, Craig Scottrecognizes that he may come as a surprise to many people that there have been primates this far back in time […] and that we find them here in Western Canada.

These prehistoric primates, named Edworthia flocks et Ignacius glenbowensis, were not apes, but rather small lemur-like primates with long faces, eyes turned to the sides of their heads. They would have lived during the Paleocene, regarding 66 to 56 million years ago, following the extinction of the dinosaurs.

A reconstruction of Plesiadapis churchilli, an archaic primate thought to be related to the two recently discovered species. While this animal was regarding the size of a domestic cat, the two new species were much smaller.

Photo: Provided by Craig Scott/Royal Tyrrell Museum

species Edworthia flocks would be slightly older than the other, according to Craig Scottand small primates would not have interbred in ancient forests, because they would have existed one following another.

They belong to a group of archaic primates that lived in an area from the southern United States to the extreme Arctic. They were surely eating fruitthought Craig Scott. From what is known of other small primates closely related to them, we can say that they may have been arboreal and lived [donc] in the trees.

The researchers were able to identify these two new species thanks to the morphology of their teeth found on fossils, enamel being the hardest and most durable tissue in the body of mammals. We are basically paleodentistsrecount Craig Scottdescribing himself and his fellow researchers who have studied a number of fossils unearthed over the past few decades.

These species were found at four locations, including one on a high bank of an exposed river in northwest Calgary, one in Cochraneand two more along the north side of the river Bow between the two communities, including one in the provincial park Glenbow Ranchhence the name glenbowensis for one of the species.

According to Craig ScottAlberta’s fossil record showcases an increasingly diverse range of prehistoric life, from dinosaurs to the archaic primates it helped name.

The discovery of these new species is helping scientists fill gaps in their understanding of evolutionary history, especially with regard to early primates.

With information from Jonathon Sharp and Dave Gilson