In this article, we will explore the topic of Afrotarsius in depth, analyzing its origins, impact on society, and possible implications for the future. Afrotarsius is a topic that has captured the attention of experts and amateurs alike, generating debates and discussions in different areas of knowledge. Over the years, Afrotarsius has meant different things to different people, evolving and adapting as the world changes. With this article, we seek to shed light on Afrotarsius and provide a comprehensive overview that allows our readers to better understand its meaning and relevance today.
Afrotarsius | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Tarsiiformes |
Family: | †Afrotarsiidae |
Genus: | †Afrotarsius Simons & Bown, 1985 |
Type species | |
†Afrotarsius chatrathi Simons & Bown, 1985
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Species | |
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Afrotarsius is a primate found in the Paleogene of Africa.
The first species to be named, Afrotarsius chatrathi, was named in 1985 on the basis of a single lower jaw from the Oligocene of Fayum, Egypt, and tentatively referred to the tarsier family (Tarsiidae). However, this relationship immediately proved controversial, and in 1987 the animal was placed in a separate family Afrotarsiidae related to simians. A tarsier-like tibiofibula was allocated to Afrotarsius in 1998, but the identity of this bone is controversial. In 2010, a second species of the genus, Afrotarsius libycus, was named from the Eocene of Dur At-Talah, Libya, on the basis of isolated upper and lower teeth. Features of these teeth were interpreted as additional evidence for a relationship between Afrotarsius and anthropoids. A second afrotarsiid genus, Afrasia, was named in 2012 from the Eocene Pondaung Formation of Myanmar. In the same paper, Afrotarsiidae was placed together with the Asian Eosimiidae in an infraorder Eosimiiformes, in the simians. However, some studies indicate that it should be placed in Tarsiiformes.
Phylogeny of Paleogene simians | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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According to Chaimanee et al. 2012, the close relationship between Afrasia djijidae from Southeast Asia and Afrotarsius libycus from North Africa demonstrates one of at least two dispersals of stem simians from Asia to Africa during the middle Eocene. |