NONHUMAN PRIMATES

The history of the order Primates is documented by a

rich fossil record, and our models for interpreting
this record continue to improve as new information
and new analytical techniques become available. This
record can be summarized as a series of adaptive
radiations, the first of which occurred in the
Mesozoic. Primates were one of the early branches of
the mammalian adaptive radiation that developed after
the Jurassic. This first primate adaptive radiation
produced a diverse array of 'archaic primates' that
date from late Cretaceous through Eocene

Archaic primates are a disparate group, usually

loosely classified into the Suborder
Plesiadapiformes. The earliest purported primate is
Purgatorius, retrieved from Cretaceous deposits of
Purgatory Hill in Montana and from later Paleocene
sites. Known only from teeth, it had a dental formula
of:

3 1 4 3
________

3 1 4 3

It is classified as a primate because of the blunt

cusps on its teeth, unlike the sharp cusps of
Insectivores. Earliest primates of the Paleocene
appear to occupy the same insectivore niche as did
the Mesozoic mammals. Their fingers terminate in
claw-like nails and they appear to have climbed with
assistance of claws (as do modern squirrels) rather
than by grasping with fingers. Large infraorbital
fossae suggest that the face bore large sensory
vibrissae. Eyes are relatively small relative to the
size of skull, fields of vision are generally
directed laterally as well as forward, and the orbit
lacks a postorbital bar. Later Paleocene primates
have a complex dentition, with mesial incisors often
markedly procumbent like those of the modern aye-aye
and many extant rodents. Premolar and molar anatomy
are variable, suggesting diversification into a
variety of dietary niches, particularly an increased
component of plant materials. The general design of
molars resembles that of more modern primates.