Basal anthropoids from Egypt and the antiquity of Africa's higher primate radiation.
Early anthropoid evolution in Afro-Arabia is poorly documented, with only a few isolated teeth known from before approximately 35 million years ago. Here we describe craniodental remains of the primitive anthropoid Biretia from approximately 37-million-year-old rocks in Egypt. Biretia is unique among early anthropoids in exhibiting evidence for nocturnality, but derived dental features shared with younger parapithecids draw this genus, and possibly >45-million-year-old Algeripithecus, into a morphologically and behaviorally diverse parapithecoid clade of great antiquity.
Seiffert
Erik R
ER
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, and Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW, UK. erik.seiffert@earth.ox.ac.uk
Simons
Elwyn L
EL
Clyde
William C
WC
Rossie
James B
JB
Attia
Yousry
Y
Bown
Thomas M
TM
Chatrath
Prithijit
P
Mathison
Mark E
ME
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003817:Dentition; D000076144:Egypt, Ancient; D005580:Fossils; D000882:Haplorhini / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification; D049690:History, Ancient; D010802:Phylogeny; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013995:Time; D014070:Tooth