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Ankle bones reveal proto-primates lived in trees
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
One of the earliest primates, Purgatorius, was a small, rodent-like mammal thought to have lived along forest floors after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
However, a new study – based on the creatures’ ankle bones from researchers at Yale University – has found that these “proto-primates” actually lived in trees. Researchers had suspected that Purgatorius lived in trees at one point, but thought they started out on the ground.
“The textbook that I am currently using in my biological anthropology courses still has an illustration of Purgatorius walking on the ground. Hopefully this study will change what students are learning about earliest primate evolution and will place Purgatorius in the trees where it rightfully belongs,” said study author Stephen Chester, currently an assistant professor of anthropology and archaeology at Brooklyn College, City University of New York.
How ankle bones changed the game
Past studies weren’t able to reach this conclusion because only the primate’s teeth and jaws had been recovered. The ankle bones were eventually located in the same location as the teeth.
“The ankle bones have diagnostic features for mobility that are only present in those of primates and their close relatives today,” Chester said. “These unique features would have allowed an animal such as Purgatorius to rotate and adjust its feet accordingly to grab branches while moving through trees.”
“In contrast, ground-dwelling mammals lack these features and are better suited for propelling themselves forward in a more restricted, fore-and-aft motion,” he added.
The researchers noted that their work represents the earliest evidence of trees playing a major role in primate evolution. They went on to say that primates evolved subtle changes over the years in order to better access resources, meaning their spilt from other mammals was a gradual one.
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Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113317372/ankle-bones-reveal-proto-primates-lived-in-trees-012015/
