Shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs, the earliest known archaic primates, such as the newly described species Purgatorius mckeeveri shown in the foreground, quickly set themselves apart from their competition - like the archaic ungulate mammal on the forest floor - by specializing in an omnivorous diet including fruit found up in the trees. Andrey Atuchin
Shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs, the earliest known archaic primates, such as the newly described species Purgatorius mckeeveri shown in the foreground, quickly set themselves apart from their competition - like the archaic ungulate mammal on the forest floor - by specializing in an omnivorous diet including fruit found up in the trees. Andrey Atuchin A new study published Feb. 24 in the journal Royal Society Open Science documents the earliest-known fossil evidence of primates. A team of 10 researchers from across the U.S. analyzed several fossils of Purgatorius , the oldest genus in a group of the earliest-known primates called plesiadapiforms. These ancient mammals were small-bodied and ate specialized diets of insects and fruits that varied by species. These newly described specimens are central to understanding primate ancestry and paint a picture of how life on land recovered after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago that wiped out all dinosaurs - except for birds - and led to the rise of mammals. Gregory Wilson Mantilla , a University of Washington professor of biology and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the UW's Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture , co-led the study with Stephen Chester of Brooklyn College and the City University of New York.
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