Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Eocene Adapidae, Paleobiogeography, and the Origin of South American Platyrrhini

  • Chapter
Evolutionary Biology of the New World Monkeys and Continental Drift

Part of the book series: Advances in Primatology ((AIPR))

Abstract

The origin of South American platyrrhine monkeys or Ceboidea is among the most interesting problems in primatology. This problem is basically an historical one, and geological evidence has special importance for any solution. Fossil primates, mammalian faunas, and paleogeography have a direct bearing on the origin of South American monkeys. Fortunately, much has been learned in the past twenty years about the fossil record of primate evolution. Several recent discoveries are particularly important for understanding the origin of higher primates. Furthermore, new evidence about climatic history and faunal migration during the early Cenozoic provides an improved background for interpreting the primate fossil record. Much remains to be learned, but the evidence available at present is sufficient to suggest a reasonably detailed hypothesis of ceboid origins.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ba Maw, Ciochon, R. L., and Savage, D. E., 1979, Late Eocene of Burma yields earliest anthropoid primate, Pondaungia cotteri, Nature (London) 282: 65–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cave, A. J. E., 1973, The primate nasal fossa, Biol. J. Linnean Soc. 5: 377–387.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conroy, G. C., 1976, Primate postcranial remains from the Oligocene of Egypt, Contrib. Primatol. 8: 1–134.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G., 1978, Size distribution of living and fossil primate faunas, Paleobiology 4: 67–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G., and Simons, E. L., 1978, Humeral morphology of the earliest apes, Nature (London) 276: 705–707.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G., Simons, E. L., and Conroy, G. C., 1975, Ape limb bone from the Oligocene of Egypt, Science 189: 135–137.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frakes, L. A., and Kemp, E. M., 1972, Influence of continental positions on Tertiary climates, Nature (London) 240: 97–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gingerich, P. D., 1973, Anatomy of the temporal bone in the Oligocene anthropoid Apidium and the origin of Anthropoidea, Folie Primatol. 19: 329–337.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gingerich, P. D., 1975, A new genus of Adapidae (Mammalia, Primates) from the Late Eocene of southern France, and its significance for the origin of higher primates, Contrib. Mus. Paleontol. Univ. Mich. 24: 163–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gingerich, P. D., 1977a, Correlation of tooth size and body size in living hominoid primates, with a note on relative brain size in Aegyptopithecus and Proconsul, Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 47: 395–398.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gingerich, P. D., 1977b, Dental variation in early Eocene Teilhardina belgica with notes on the anterior dentition of some early Tarsiiformes, Folie Primatol. 28: 144–153.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gingerich, P. D., 1977c, Radiation of Eocene Adapidae in Europe, Géobios, Mém. Spéc. 1: 165–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gingerich, P. D., 1978a, The Stuttgart collection of Oligocene primates from the Fayum Province of Egypt, Paleontol. Z. 52: 82–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gingerich, P. D., 1978b, Phylogeny reconstruction and the phylogenetic position of Tarsius, in: Recent Advances in Primatology, Vol. 3, Evolution ( D. J. Chivers and K. A. Joysey, eds.), pp. 249–255, Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gingerich, P. D., I979a, Phylogeny of Middle Eocene Adapidae (Mammalia, Primates) in North America: Smilodectes and Notharctus, J. Paleontol. 53: 153–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gingerich, P. D., 1979b, Sexual dimorphism in Eocene Adapidae: Implications for primate phylogeny and evolution, Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 50: 442.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gingerich, P. D., and Schoeninger, M. J., 1977, The fossil record and primate phylogeny, J. Hum. Evol. 6: 482–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, M., 1975, Protein sequence and immunological specificity, their role in phylogenetic studies of primates, in: Phylogeny of the Primates: A Multidisciplinary Approach ( W. P. Luckett and F. S. Szalay, eds.), pp. 219–248, Plenum Press, New York.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, W. K., 1920, On the structure and relations of Notharctus, an American Eocene primate, Mem. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 3: 49–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartenberger, J.-L., 1975, Nouvelles decouvertes de rongeurs dans le Deseadien (Oligocène inférieur) de Salla Luribay (Bolivie), C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sér. D 280: 427–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hershkovitz, P., 1974, The ectotympanic bone and origin of higher primates, Folia Primatol 22: 237–242.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffstetter, R., 1969, Un primate de l’Oligocène inférieur sud-américain: Branisella boliviana gen. et sp. nov, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sér D. 269: 434–437.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffstetter, R., 1972, Relationships, origins, and history of the ceboid monkeys and caviomorph rodents: A modern reinterpretation, in: Evolutionary Biology, Vol. 6 ( Th. Dobzhansky, M. K. Hecht, and W. C. Steere, eds.), pp. 323–347, Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffstetter, R., 1974, Phylogeny and geographical deployment of the primates, J. Hum. Evol. 3: 327–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jepsen, G. L., and Woodburne, M. O., 1969, Paleocene hyracothere from Polecat Bench Formation, Wyoming, Science 164: 543–547.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jerison, H. J., 1973, Evolution of the Brain and Intelligence, Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kay, R. F., 1975, The functional adaptations of primate molar teeth, Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 43: 195–216.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lavocat, R., 1974, The interrelationships between the African and South American rodents and their bearing on the problem of the origin of South American monkeys, J. Hum. Evol. 3: 323–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Gros Clark, W. E., 1962, The Antecedents of Man, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckett, W. P., 1975, Ontogeny of the fetal membranes and placenta, their bearing on primate phylogeny, in: Phylogeny of the Primates, a Multidisciplinary Approach ( W. P. Luckett and F. S. Szalay, eds.), pp. 157–182, Plenum Press, New York.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, L. G., Pascual, R., Curtis, G. H., and Drake, R. E., 1977, South American geochronology: Radiometric time scale for middle to late Tertiary mammal-bearing horizons in Patagonia, Science 195: 1325–1328.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, B., and Pascual, R., 1972, The fossil mammal fauna of South America, in: Evolution, Mammals, and Southern Continents ( A. Keast, F. C. Erk, and B. Glass, eds.), pp. 247–309, State University of New York Press, Albany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pilgrim, G. E., 1927, A Sivapithecus palate and other primate fossils from India, Mem. Geol. Surv. India 14: 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Radinsky, L., 1977, Early primate brains: Facts and fiction, J. Hum. Evol. 6: 79–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, K. D., 1978, A new Paleocene epoicitheriid (Mammalia), with comments on the Palaeanodonta, J. Paleontol. 52: 658–674.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savage, D. E., and Waters, B. T., 1978, A new omomyid primate from the Wasatch formation of southern Wyoming, Folia Primatol. 30: 1–29.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Savin, S. M., Douglas, R. G., and Stehli, F. G., 1975, Tertiary marine paleotemperatures, Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 86: 1499–1510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlosser, M., 1907, Beitrag zur Osteologie und systematischen Stellung der Gattung Necrolemur, sowie zur Stammesgeschichte der Primaten überhaupt, Neues Jahrb. Mineral. Geol. Palüontol. Festbd. 1807–1907: 197–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, E. L., 1959, An anthropoid frontal bone from the Fayum Oligocene of Egypt: The oldest skull fragment of a higher primate, Am. Mus. Novit. No. 1976: 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, E. L., 1961, Notes on Eocene tarsioids and a revision of some Necrolemurinae, Bull. Br. Mus. Nat. Hist. (Geol.) 5: 45–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, E. L., 1965, New fossil apes from Egypt and the initial differentiation of Hominoidea, Nature (London) 205: 135–139.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, E. L., 1969, Recent advances in paleoanthropology, Yearb. Phys. Anthropol. 1967: 14–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, E. L., 1971, Relationships of Amphipithecus and Oligopithecus, Nature (London) 232: 489–491.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, E. L., 1972, Primate Evolution, An Introduction to Man’s Place in Nature, Macmillan, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, G. G., 1947, Holarctic mammalian faunas and continental relationships during the Cenozoic, Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 58: 613–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, G. G., Minoprio, J. L., and Patterson, B., 1962, The mammalian fauna of the Divisadero Largo Formation, Mendoza, Argentina, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 127: 237–293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. G., and Briden, J. C., 1977, Mesozoic and Cenozoic Paleocontinental Maps, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stehlin, H. G., 1909, Remarques sur les faunules de mammifères des couches éocènes et oligocènes du bassin de Paris, Bull. Soc. Géol. Fr. 9: 488–520.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stehlin, H. G., 1912, Die Säugetiere des schweizerischen Eocaens—Adapis, Abh. Schweiz. Paläont. Ges. 38: 1165–1298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szalay, F. S., 1970, Late Eocene Amphipithecus and the origins of catarrhine primates, Nature, (London) 227: 355–357.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Szalay, F. S., 1972, Amphipithecus revisited, Nature (London) 236: 170–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szalay, F. S., 1976, Systematics of the Omomyidae (Tarsiiformes, Primates): Taxonomy, phylogeny, and adaptations, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 156: 163–449.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb, S. D., 1976, Mammalian faunal dynamics of the great American interchange, Paleobiology 2: 220–234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weigelt, J., 1933, Neue primaten aus der mitteleozänen (oberlutetischen) Braunkohle des Geiseltals, Nova Acta Leopold. 1: 97–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. A., and Szalay, F. S., 1976, New adapid primate of European affinities from Texas, Folia Primatol. 25: 294–312.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, J. A., 1978, A paleobotanical interpretation of Tertiary climates in the northern hemisphere, Am. Sci. 66: 694–703.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, J. A., and Hopkins, D. M., 1967, Climatic changes recorded by Tertiary land floras in northwestern North America, in: Tertiary Correlations and Climatic Changes in the Pacific (K. Hatai, ed.), 11th Pacific Sci. Symp. 25: 67–76.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA

    P. D. Gingerich

Authors
  1. P. D. Gingerich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 28223, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

    Russell L. Ciochon

  2. Institute of Anthropology, Florence, Italy

    A. Brunetto Chiarelli

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1980 Plenum Publishing Corporation

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Gingerich, P.D. (1980). Eocene Adapidae, Paleobiogeography, and the Origin of South American Platyrrhini. In: Ciochon, R.L., Chiarelli, A.B. (eds) Evolutionary Biology of the New World Monkeys and Continental Drift. Advances in Primatology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3764-5_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3764-5_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-3766-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-3764-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation