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Pedal distal phalanges of the Eocene adapoids Europolemur and Darwinius compared to phalanges of Notharctus and other primates

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Abstract

Pedal distal phalanges of the Eocene adapoids Europolemur and Darwinius from Messel and Notharctus from Wyoming have been compared morphologically and metrically to representatives of all six superfamilies of extant primates. A detailed system of morphological types is established that differentiates pedal distal phalanges. Four major groups and 12 types can be recognised in primates. Primates additionally show a primary interruption of homogeneity (PIH) between the hallux and other pedal rays, as well as two distinct secondary interruptions of homogeneity (SIH) within more lateral pedal rays. Using morphology, PIH and SIH, we have developed a formula for pedal distal phalanges. Differences among Adapoidea are unexpectedly large. Notharctus shows less differentiation in the pedal phalanges than does Europolemur. Our analyses show that both species of Europolemur had a differentiated grooming claw. Preservation of the second distal phalanx in Darwinius is not sufficient for a detailed classification. Despite similarities of the grooming claws of Europolemur to those of some lemurs and lorises, we hesitate to classify adapoids with Lemuroidea and Lorisoidea as there are significant differences and a possibility of parallelism.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Thomas Martin (STIB, Bonn) for providing access to the μCT facilities; Peter Göddertz (STIPB, Bonn) and K. Schilling (Univ. Bonn) for producing most of the CT scans; and E. Schlosser-Sturm and A. Vogel (SMF, Frankfurt) and J. Schultz and A. Bergmann (Bonn) for help with the EDV programs and figures. Doug Boyer provided μCT images of the foot bones described by Maiolino et al. (2012). In addition, we thank Wolfgang Maier and Marc Godinot for very helpful reviews of the manuscript.

The important fossils were made accessible to us by E. Frey (SMNK, Karlsruhe), J. Hurum (Natural History Museum, Oslo), G. Gruber and N. Micklich (HLMD, Darmstadt). Gregg Gunnel drew our attention to previously undiscribed notharctine distal phalanges. Primate skeletons for μCT-scanning were loaned by J. Adrian (ZFMK, Bonn), M. Hiermeier (ZSM, München), R. Hutterer (ZFMK, Bonn), R. Kraft (ZSM, München), K. Krohmann (SMF, Frankfurt), W. Maier (Tübingen), F. Mayer (ZMB, Berlin) and K. Mätz-Reising (DPZ, Göttingen). We thank J. Franzen, J. Hurum, and B. H. Smith for discussion. The research project was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung (Bonn) providing support to PDG, and by the Ermann-Stiftung (Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut, Frankfurt) providing financial support for additional external X-ray scans.

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Correspondence to Wighart von Koenigswald.

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This article is a contribution to the special issue “Messel and the terrestrial Eocene—Proceedings of the 22nd Senckenberg Conference”

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Table 3 Extant tree shrew and primate specimens included in this study

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von Koenigswald, W., Habersetzer, J. & Gingerich, P.D. Pedal distal phalanges of the Eocene adapoids Europolemur and Darwinius compared to phalanges of Notharctus and other primates. Palaeobio Palaeoenv 92, 539–565 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-012-0096-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-012-0096-2

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