Nosmips

Nosmips
Temporal range: 38.0–33.9 Ma
↓
 Late Eocene[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: incertae sedis
Genus: †Nosmips
Seiffert, 2010
Species:
†N. aenigmaticus
Binomial name
†Nosmips aenigmaticus
Seiffert, 2010[2]

Nosmips aenigmaticus is a rare fossil primate known only from 12 teeth. Most teeth were found at a site in the Fayum Depression about 40 miles (64 km) outside Cairo, Egypt.[3]

Nosmips aenigmaticus probably lived 37 million years ago in Africa and has not been successfully classified within any group of primates.[4] In particular, it is distinct from the three main branches of primate found in Africa at the time - anthropoids, adapiforms and lemuriforms. It is weakly associated with the Eosimiidae. Its premolars are specialised and the tooth enamel displays extensive signs of pitting, which would appear to be consistent with a diet of either seeds or fruits with hard pits.[5]

Name

Nosmips is an anagram of Simpson. The name was chosen to honour paleontologist and anagram enthusiast George Gaylord Simpson.

References

  1. ^ "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  2. ^ E. R. Seiffert, E. L. Simons, D. M. Boyer, J. M. G. Perry, T. M. Ryan and H. M. Sallam. 2010. A fossil primate of uncertain affinities from the earliest late Eocene of Egypt. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(21):9712-9717
  3. ^ Odd mosaic of dental features reveals undocumented primate
  4. ^ Yahia, M. 2010. A new evolutionary mystery. Nature.
  5. ^ Seiffert, Erik R.; Boyer, Doug M.; Fleagle, John G.; Gunnell, Gregg F.; Heesy, Christopher P.; Perry, Jonathan M. G.; Sallam, Hesham M. (2017-04-10). "New adapiform primate fossils from the late Eocene of Egypt". Historical Biology. 30 (1–2): 204–226. doi:10.1080/08912963.2017.1306522. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 89631627.