Microsyops
Extinct genus of primates / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Microsyops is a plesiadapiform primate found in Middle Eocene in North America.[1] It is in the family Microsyopidae, a plesiadapiform family characterized by distinctive lanceolate lower first incisors.[2] It appears to have had a more developed sense of smell than other early primates.[3] It is believed to have eaten fruit, and its fossils show the oldest known dental cavities in a mammal.[4][5]
Quick Facts Scientific classification, Species ...
Microsyops | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Plesiadapiformes |
Family: | †Microsyopidae |
Subfamily: | †Microsyopinae |
Genus: | †Microsyops Leidy, 1872 |
Species | |
|
Close
There are nine species of Microsyops that exist in the fossil record from the middle Wasatchian (~53 million years ago) through Uintan (~42 million years ago) North American Land Mammal Ages. Microsyops is primarily known from the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, though fossils have also been found in California and Texas.[6][7]