TY - JOUR
T1 - Early Eocene omomyid from the Nanjemoy Formation of Virginia
T2 - first fossil primate from the Atlantic Coastal Plain
AU - Rose, Kenneth D.
AU - Perry, Jonathan M.G.
AU - Prufrock, Kristen A.
AU - Weems, Robert E.
N1 - Funding Information:
Our gratitude goes to M. Gulotta for bringing this specimen to the attention of the authors and donating it to the Smithsonian, and for providing first-hand information about the Fisher/Sullivan Site. We are grateful to L. Edwards and J. Self-Trail (U. S. Geological Survey) for sharing their knowledge and insights concerning the stratigraphy and age of the Nanjemoy Formation, and to L. Bybell (USGS) for providing unpublished data on nannofossils of the Nanjemoy Fm. to REW. Thanks to R. P. Speijer for discussion of plankton and nannofossil zones and providing prepublication data from Geologic Time Scale 2020, and to W. von Koenigswald for providing the Fahlbusch reference. We wish to thank the many colleagues who, over the years, have provided casts of omomyids that proved essential for this study, especially K. C. Beard, J. I. Bloch, T. M. Bown, P. D. Gingerich, G. F. Gunnell, X. Ni, D. T. Rasmussen, D. E. Savage, R. Smith, T. Smith, and B. A. Williams. We are grateful to J. Gladman, M. Shepard, and other personnel of the Duke University Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility for producing the micro-CT scans. We also thank D. Boyer, E. Fulwood, P. Morse, and T. Smith for permission to use images of comparative specimens. Scanning and access to scans was supported by NSF grants BCS-1552848 and BCS-1440742 to D. Boyer. The authors gratefully acknowledge reviewers K. C. Beard and R. Minwer-Barakat, whose helpful comments resulted in significant improvements to the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The first known primate fossil from the Atlantic Coastal Plain, a mandibular fragment representing the family Omomyidae, is described from the early Eocene Fisher/Sullivan Site in northeastern Virginia. The jaw, containing m1–m2, was found near the base of the Potapaco Member, Bed B, of the Nanjemoy Formation, indicating an early Ypresian age, ca. 54.5 Ma. As the specimen lacks diagnostic antemolar dentition, its precise identity cannot be confidently determined. However, its diminutive size and plesiomorphic molar morphology suggest that it represents a primitive omomyid. Comparison with a diversity of omomyids finds that nearly all omomyid genera are larger and/or derived in various features compared to the Nanjemoy specimen. Closest resemblances are to the primitive omomyids Steinius, Anemorhysis, Loveina, Melaneremia, and especially Teilhardina.
AB - The first known primate fossil from the Atlantic Coastal Plain, a mandibular fragment representing the family Omomyidae, is described from the early Eocene Fisher/Sullivan Site in northeastern Virginia. The jaw, containing m1–m2, was found near the base of the Potapaco Member, Bed B, of the Nanjemoy Formation, indicating an early Ypresian age, ca. 54.5 Ma. As the specimen lacks diagnostic antemolar dentition, its precise identity cannot be confidently determined. However, its diminutive size and plesiomorphic molar morphology suggest that it represents a primitive omomyid. Comparison with a diversity of omomyids finds that nearly all omomyid genera are larger and/or derived in various features compared to the Nanjemoy specimen. Closest resemblances are to the primitive omomyids Steinius, Anemorhysis, Loveina, Melaneremia, and especially Teilhardina.
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U2 - 10.1080/02724634.2021.1923340
DO - 10.1080/02724634.2021.1923340
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85106514125
SN - 0272-4634
VL - 41
JO - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
JF - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
IS - 1
M1 - e1923340
ER -