Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Origins and Evolution of Early Primates

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Post-Genome Biology of Primates

Part of the book series: Primatology Monographs ((PrimMono))

  • 1078 Accesses

Abstract

The origin of the order Primates has been one of the hottest topics of primatology for a century. It was traditionally believed that the primates originated in North America as early as the end of the Cretaceous, based on the fossil record. Based on morphological analysis of living mammalian taxa, it has long been advocated that the closest relatives of primates are the Chiroptera (bats), Dermoptera (flying lemurs), and Scandentia (tree shrews). However, recent developments in molecular biology have revealed that primates originated probably in the late Cretaceous and are not closely related to bats. Moreover, not only primates but also all placental mammals might have originated in the southern supercontinent, Gondwanaland. Considering the molecular biological analyses and the recent discoveries of fossil evidence, the late Cretaceous circum-Tethys region could have been the stage for the initial evolution of primates.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Archibald JD, Deutschman DH (2001) Quantitative analysis of the timing of the origin and diversification of extant placental orders. J Mamm Evol 8(2):107–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnason U, Gullberg A, Janke A et al (1996) Pattern and timing of evolutionary divergences among hominoids based on analyses of complete mtDNAs. J Mol Evol 43:650–661

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arnason U, Gullberg A, Janke A (1998) Molecular timing of primate divergences as estimated by two nonprimate calibration points. J Mol Evol 47:718–727

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Asher RJ, Bennett N, Lehmann T (2009) The new framework for understanding placental mammal evolution. Bioessays 31:853–864

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bajpai S, Kay RF, Williams BA et al (2008) The oldest Asian record of Anthropoidea. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:11093–11098

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beard KC (1993) Phylogenetic systematics of the Primatomorpha, with special reference to Dermoptera. In: Szalay FS, Novacek MJ, McKenna MC (eds) Mammal phylogeny: placentals. Springer, New York, pp 129–150

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Beard KC (1998) East of Eden: Asia as an important center of taxonomic origination in mammalian evolution. Bull Carnegie Mus Nat Hist 34:5–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Beard KC (2008) The oldest North American primate and mammalian biogeography during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:3815–3818

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benton MJ (1999) Early origins of modern birds and mammals: molecules vs. morphology. Bioessays 21(12):1043–1051

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bloch JI, Boyer DM (2002) Grasping primate origins. Science 298:1606–1610

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bloch JI, Boyer DM (2007) New skeletons of Paleocene-Eocene Plesiadapiformes: a diversity of arboreal positional behaviors in early primates. In: Rovosa MJ, Dagosto M (eds) Primate origins: adaptations and evolution. Springer, New York, pp 535–581

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bloch JI, Silcox MT, Boyer DM et al (2007) New Paleocene skeletons and the relationship of plesiadapiforms to crown-clade primates. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:1159–1164

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cartmill M (1972) Arboreal adaptations and the origin of the order Primates. In: Tuttle R (ed) Functional and evolutionary biology of primates. Aldine-Atherton, Chicago, pp 97–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Crane PR, Friis EM, Pedersen KR (1986) Lower Cretaceous angiosperm flowers: fossil evidence on early radiation of dicotyledons. Science 232:852–854

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crane PR, Friis EM, Pedersen KR (1995) The origin and early diversification of angiosperms. Nature (Lond) 374:27–33

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eizirik E, Murphy WJ, O’Brien SJ (2001) Molecular dating and biogeography of the early placental mammal radiation. J Hered 92:212–219

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle JG (1999) Primate adaptation and evolution. Plenum, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Foote M, Hunter JP, Janis CM et al (1999) Evolutionary and preservational constraints on origins of biologic groups: divergence times of eutherian mammals. Science 283:1310–1314

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Godinot M, Mahboubi M (1992) Earliest known simian primate found in Algeria. Nature (Lond) 357:324–326

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hartenberger J-L, Marandat B (1992) A new genus and species of an early Eocene primate from North Africa. Hum Evol 7:9–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasegawa M, Thorne JL, Kishino H (2003) Time scale of eutherian evolution estimated without assuming a constant rate of molecular evolution. Genes Genet Syst 78:267–283

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hedges SB, Parker PH, Sibley CG et al (1996) Continental breakup and the ordinal diversification of birds and mammals. Nature (Lond) 381:226–229

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hooker JJ, Russell DE, Phélizon A (1999) A new family of Plesiadapiformes (Mammalia) from the Old World lower Paleogene. Palaeontology 42(3):377–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janke A, Feldmaier-Fuchs G, Thomas WK et al (1994) The marsupial mitochondrial genome and the evolution of placental mammals. Genetics (Dordr) 137:243–256

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kay RF, Thewissen JG, Yoder AD (1992) Cranial anatomy of Ignacius graybullianus and the affinities of the Plesiadapiformes. Am J Phys Anthropol 89:477–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirk EC, Cartmill M, Kay RF et al (2003) Comment on “Grasping Primate Origins.”. Science 300:741b

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraus DW, Maas MC (1990) The biogeographic origins of late Paleocene-early Eocene mammalian immigrants to the Western Interior of North America. Geol Soc Am Special Pap 243:71–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Kriegs JO, Chrakov G, Jurka J et al (2006) Evolutionary history of 7SL RNA-derived SINEs in supraprimates. Trends Genet 23:158–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar S, Hedges B (1998) A molecular timescale for vertebrate evolution. Nature (Lond) 392:917–920

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MacKenna MC, Bell SK (1997) Classification of mammals above the species level. Columbia University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Madsen O, Scally M, Douady CJ et al (2001) Parallel adaptive radiations in two major clades of placental mammals. Nature (Lond) 409:610–614

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martin RD (1993) Primate origins: plugging the gaps. Nature (Lond) 363:223–234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martin RD (2007) Primate origins: implications of a Cretaceous ancestry. Folia Primatol (Basel) 78:277–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy WJ, Eizirik E, Johnson WE et al (2001a) Molecular phylogenetics and the origins of placental mammals. Nature (Lond) 401:614–618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy WJ, Eizirik E, O’Brien SJ et al (2001b) Resolution of the early placental mammal radiation using Bayesian phylogenetics. Science 294:2348–2351

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ni X, Wang Y, Hu Y et al (2004) A euprimate skull from the early Eocene of China. Nature (Lond) 427:65–68

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen DT (1990) Primate origins: lessons from a neotropical marsupial. Am J Primatol 22:263–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose KD (1975) The Carpolestidae, early Tertiary primates from North America. Bull Mus Comp Zool 147:1–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose KD, Rana RS, Sahni A et al (2009) Early Eocene primates from Gujarat, India. J Hum Evol 56:366–404

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sargis EJ (2007) The postcranial morphology of Ptilocercus lowii (Scandentia, Tupaiidae) and its implications for primate supraordinal relationships. In: Rovosa MJ, Dagosto M (eds) Primate origins: adaptations and evolution. Springer, New York, pp 51–82

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Scotese CR (2001) Digital paleogeographic map archive on CD-ROM. PALEOMAP Project, Arlington, Texas

    Google Scholar 

  • Seiffert ER, Simons EL, Clyde WC et al (2005) Basal anthropoids from Egypt and the antiquity of Africa’s higher primate radiation. Science 310:300–304

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sigé B, Jaeger J-J, Sudre J et al (1990) Altiatlasius koulchii n. gen. et sp., Primate omomyidé du Paléocène Supérieur du Maroc, et les origins des Euprimates. Palaeontographica A 214:31–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Silcox MT, Bloch JI, Sargis EJ et al (2005) Euarchonta (Dermoptera, Scandentia, Primates). In: Rose KD, Archibald JD (eds) The rise of placental mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp 127–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Silcox MT, Sargis EJ, Bloch JI et al (2007) Primate origins and supraordinal relationships: morphological evidence. In: Henke W, Tattersall I (eds) Handbook of paleoanthropology, vol 2, Primate evolution and human origins. Springer, Berlin, pp 831–859

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Silcox MT, Dalmyn CK, Bloch JI (2009) Virtual endocast of Ignacius graybullianus (Paromomyidae, Primates) and brain evolution in early primates. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106:10987–10992

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith GE (1913) The evolution of man. Annu Rep Board Regents Smithson Inst 1912:553–572

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith T, Rose KD, Gingerich PD (2006) Rapid Asia-Europe-North America geographic dispersal of earliest Eocene primate Teilhardina during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:11223–11227

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soligo C, Will O, Tavaré S et al (2007) New light on the dates of primate origins and divergence. In: Ravosa MJ, Dagosto M (eds) Primate origins: adaptations and evolution. Springer, New York, pp 29–49

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Springer MS, Cleven GC, Madsen O et al (1997) Endemic African mammals shake the phylogenetic tree. Nature (Lond) 388:61–64

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Springer MS, Murphy WJ, Eizirik E et al (2003) Placental mammal diversification and the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:1056–1061

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Springer MS, Murphy WJ, Eizirik E et al (2005) Molecular evidence for major placental clades. In: Rose KD, Archibald JD (eds) The rise of placental mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp 37–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Springer MS, Murphy WJ, Eizirik E et al (2007) A molecular classification for the living orders of placental mammals and the phylogenetic placement of primates. In: Rovosa MJ, Dagosto M (eds) Primate origins: adaptations and evolution. Springer, New York, pp 1–28

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sussman RW (1991) Primate origins and evolution of angiosperms. Am J Primatol 23:209–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szalay FS, Dagosto M (1988) Evolution of hallucial grasping in primates. J Hum Evol 17:1–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tavaré S, Marshall CR, Will O et al (2002) Using the fossil record to estimate the age of the last common ancestor of extant primates. Nature (Lond) 416:726–729

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waddell PJ, Okada N, Hasegawa M (1999) Towards resolving the interordinal relationships of placental mammals. Syst Biol 48:1–5

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wible JR, Covert HH (1987) Primates: cladistic diagnosis and relationships. J Hum Evol 16:1–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan

    Masanaru Takai

Authors
  1. Masanaru Takai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masanaru Takai .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kanrin 41-2, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan

    Hirohisa Hirai

  2. Department of Cellular and Molecular Bio., Inuyama, 484-8506, Japan

    Hiroo Imai

  3. Kyoto University, Primates Research Institute, Kanbayashi, Inuyama, 484-8506, Aichi, Japan

    Yasuhiro Go

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Takai, M. (2012). Origins and Evolution of Early Primates. In: Hirai, H., Imai, H., Go, Y. (eds) Post-Genome Biology of Primates. Primatology Monographs. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54011-3_17

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation