Eocene primates

Darwinius is a genus within the infraorder Adapiformes, a group of basal strepsirrhine primates from the middle Eocene epoch. Its only known species, Darwinius masillae, lived approximately 47 million years ago (Lutetian stage) based on dating of the fossil site.

Omomyidae is a group of early primates that radiated during the Eocene epoch between about (mya). Fossil omomyids are found in North America, Europe & Asia, making it one of two groups of Eocene primates with a geographic distribution spanning holarctic continents, the other being the adapids (family Adapidae). Early representatives of the Omomyidae and Adapidae appear suddenly at the beginning of the Eocene (56 mya) in North America, Europe, and Asia, and are the earliest known crown primates.

The genus Apidium (from Latin, a diminutive of the Egyptian bull god, Apis, as the first fossils were thought to be from a type of a cow) is that of at least three extinct primates living in the early Oligocene, from 30 to 28 million years ago. Apidium fossils are common in the Fayoum deposits of Egypt. Fossils of the earlier species, Apidium moustafai, are rare; fossils of the later species Apidium phiomense are fairly common.

Notharctus is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in North America and Europe during the early to middle Eocene. left|thumb|N. tenebrosus (left) compared to Plesiadapis|Plesiadapis cookei (right), a plesiadapiform. Both come from [[Eocene Wyoming, though the latter is slightly geologically older (Museum of Natural Sciences, Brussels).]] The body form of Notharctus is similar to that of modern rats. Its fingers were elongated for clamping onto branches, including the development of a thumb. Its spine is flexible and the animal was about in length, excluding the long tail.

Adapidae is a family of extinct primates that primarily radiated during the Eocene epoch between about 55 and 34 million years ago.

Teilhardina (, ) is an extinct marmoset-like omomyid primate that lived in Europe, North America and Asia during the Early Eocene epoch, about 56-47 million years ago. The paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson named it after the French paleontologist, Jesuit and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin.

Eosimias is a genus of early primates, first discovered and identified in 1999 from fossils collected in the Shanghuang fissure-fillings of Liyang, the southern city of Jiangsu Province, China. It is a part of the family Eosimiidae, and includes three known species: Eosimias sinensis, Eosimias centennicus, and Eosimias dawsonae. It provides us with a glimpse of a primate skeleton similar to that of the common ancestor of the Haplorhini (including all simians). The name Eosimias is designed to mean "dawn monkey", from Greek eos "dawn" and Latin simius "monkey".

Godinotia is an extinct genus of strepsirrhine (wet-nosed primate) from the Eocene of Germany. It belongs to the order Adapiformes, a widespread early primate group distantly related to modern lemurs. Godinotia fossils are found in Middle Eocene strata of Geiseltal. The genus contains a single species, Godinotia neglecta, which was previously regarded as a species of Pronycticebus or Caenopithecus.

Necrolemur is a small bodied omomyid with body mass estimations ranging from . Necrolemur’s teeth feature broad basins and blunt cusps, suggesting their diet consisted of mostly soft fruit, though examination of microwear patterns suggests that populations from lower latitudes also consumed insects and gums.

Adapis is an extinct adapiform primate from the Eocene of Europe. While this genus has traditionally contained five species (A. magnus, A. bruni, A. collinsonae, A. parisiensis, and A. sudrei), recent research has recognized at least six morphotypes that may represent distinct species. Adapis holds the title of the first Eocene primate ever discovered. In 1821, Georges Cuvier, who is considered to be the founding father of paleontology, discovered Adapis in fissure fillings outside of Paris, France. Given its timing and appearance in the fossil record, Cuvier did not recognize the primate affi

Carpolestes (from Ancient Greek καρπός (karpós), meaning "fruit", and λῃστής (lēistḗs), meaning "robber", and thus, "fruit robber") is a genus of extinct primate-like mammals from the late Paleocene of North America. It first existed around 58 million years ago. The three species of Carpolestes appear to form a lineage, with the earliest occurring species, C. dubius, ancestral to the type species, C. nigridens, which, in turn, was ancestral to the most recently occurring species, C. simpsoni.

Eosimiidae is the possible family of extinct primates believed to be the earliest simians.

Archicebus is a genus of fossil primates that lived in the early Eocene forests (~55.8–54.8 million years ago) of what is now Jingzhou in the Hubei Province in central China, discovered in 2013. The only known species, A. achilles, was a small primate, estimated to weigh about , and is the only known member of the family Archicebidae. When discovered, it was the oldest fossil haplorhine primate skeleton found, appearing to be most closely related to tarsiers and the fossil omomyids, although A. achilles is suggested to have been diurnal, whereas tarsiers are nocturnal. Resemblin

Karanisia is an extinct genus of strepsirrhine primate from Middle Eocene fossil deposits in Egypt.

Europolemur is a genus of adapiform primates that lived in Europe during the middle Eocene.

Cantius is a genus of adapiform primates from the early Eocene of North America and Europe. It is extremely well represented in the fossil record in North America and has been hypothesized to be the direct ancestor of Notharctus in North America. The evolution of Cantius is characterized by a significant increase in body mass that nearly tripled in size. The earliest species were considered small-sized and weighed in around , while the later occurring species were considered medium-sized and likely weighed in around . Though significantly smaller, the fossil remains discovered of the various s

Altanius is a genus of extinct primates found in the early Eocene of Mongolia. Though its phylogenetic relationship is questionable, many have placed it as either a primitive omomyid or as a member of the sister group to both adapoids and omomyids. The genus is represented by one species, Altanius orlovi, estimated to weigh about from relatively well-known and complete dental and facial characteristics.

Hoanghonius is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in Asia during the middle Eocene.

Oligopithecidae is an extinct basal Catarrhine family from the late Eocene of Egypt (about 37 million years ago) as sister of the rest of the Catarrhines. Its members were probably insectivorous, due to their simple molars and cusp arrangement.

Ganlea is a fossil primate from central Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Its age is about 38 million years, living during the late Eocene epoch. Ganlea belongs to the group of anthropoids (i. e. humans, apes and monkeys), and is in the family Amphipithecidae. It is older than any other known anthropoid from Africa, and is the second oldest known from Asia. Its remains consist of teeth and jawbones belonging to 10 to 15 individuals found near the city of Bagan in the central part of the country.

Smilodectes is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in North America during the middle Eocene. It possesses a post-orbital bar and grasping thumbs and toes. Smilodectes has a small cranium size and the foramen magnum was located at the back of the skull, on the occipital bone.

Ignacius is a genus of extinct mammal from the early Cenozoic era. This genus is present in the fossil record from around 62-33 Ma (late Torrejonian-Chadronian North American Land Mammals Ages). The earliest known specimens of Ignacius come from the Torrejonian of the Fort Union Formation, Wyoming and the most recent known specimens from Ellesmere Island in northern Canada. Ignacius is one of ten genera within the family Paromomyidae, the longest living family of any plesiadapiforms, persisting for around 30 Ma during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs. The analyses of postcranial fossils by pale

Afradapis is a genus of adapiform primate that lived during the Late Eocene. The only known species, Afradapis longicristatus, was discovered in the Birket Qarun Formation in northern Egypt in 2009. While its geographic distribution is confined to Afro-Arabia, Afradapis belongs to the predominantly European adapiform family Caenopithecinae. This taxonomic placement is supported by recent phylogenetic analyses that recover a close evolutionary relationship between Afradapis and adapiforms, including Darwinius. While adapiforms have been noted for their strepsirrhine-like morphology, no adapifor

species of mammal (fossil)

Pronycticebus was a genus of adapiform primates that lived during the early to middle Eocene. It is represented by Pronycticebus gaudryi, from the Quercy Phosphorites Formation of France. A second species, P. neglectus, was moved to its own genus Godinotia in 2000.

Pelycodus (from Ancient Greek πέλυξ (pélux), “bowl” + ὀδούς (odoús), “tooth”) is an extinct genus of adapiform primate that lived during the early Eocene (Wasatchian) period in Europe and North America, particularly Wyoming and New Mexico. It is very closely related to Cantius and may even be its subgenus. It may also have given rise to the Middle Eocene Uintan primate Hesperolemur, although this is controversial. From mass estimates based on the first molar, the two species, P. jarrovii and P. danielsae, weighed 4.5 kg and 6.3 kg respectively and were frugivores with an arboreal, qu

Leptadapis is an extinct genus of adapiform primate that lived in Europe during the middle Eocene. Fossils of the genus have been found in the Escanilla Formation of Spain, at the sites of La Bouffie and Perrière in France, and at Egerkingen in Switzerland.

Catopithecus is an early catarrhine fossil. It is known from more than 16 specimens of a single species, Catopithecus browni, found in the Jebel Qatrani Formation of the Faiyum Governorate, Egypt. The Jebel Qatrani Formation has been divided into two main faunal zones based on the fact that the fauna found in the lower portion of the quarry appear to be more primitive than those found in the upper section. The upper zone has been dated to older than 31 ± 1 myr based on the dating of a basalt layer that lies immediately above the formation and Nicolas Steno's Law of Superposition. The lower zon

Bugtilemur is an extinct genus of Strepsirhine primate belonging to the adapiform family Ekgmowechashalidae.It is represented by only one species, B. mathesoni, which was found in the Chitarwata Formation of Pakistan.

Agerinia is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in Europe during the early Eocene. Fossils have been found in the Grès d'Assignan, Lignites de Soissonais, and Calcare d'Agel Formations of France, the Corçà and Escanilla Formations of Spain and the Kuldana Formation of Pakistan.

Djebelemuridae is an extinct family of early strepsirrhine primates from Africa. It consists of five genera. The organisms in this family were exceptionally small, and were insectivores. This family dates to the early to late Eocene. Although they gave rise to the crown strepsirrhines, which includes today's lemurs and lorisoids, they lacked the toothcomb that identifies that group.

Plesiopithecus is an extinct genus of early strepsirrhine primate from the late Eocene.

Protoadapis is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in Europe during the early middle Eocene.

Nosmips aenigmaticus is a rare fossil primate known only from 12 teeth. Most teeth were found at a site in the Fayum Depression about outside Cairo, Egypt.

Anchomomys is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in Europe and Africa during the middle Eocene.

Afrotarsius is a primate found in the Paleogene of Africa. left|thumb|Afrasia from Asia and Afrotarsius from Africa exhibit similar morphology of their teeth and lived in the late middle Eocene, suggesting Stem group|stem simians dispersed from Asia to Africa around that time.|alt=Two molars, one of Afrotarsius (left) and one of Afrasia (right), are compared, with an Eocene map of the globe showing where each came from. In the lower left, a life reconstruction of Afrotarsius is shown. The first species to be named, Afrotarsius chatrathi, was named in 1985 on the basis of a single lower jaw fro

Algeripithecus is an extinct genus of early fossil primate, weighing approximately . Fossils have been found in Algeria and Tunisia dating from 50 to 46 million years ago.