Carpolestes
Extinct genus of mammals
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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.[1]
| Carpolestes Temporal range: Late Paleocene, [1] | |
|---|---|
| |
| Carpolestes simpsoni | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Plesiadapiformes |
| Family: | †Carpolestidae |
| Genus: | †Carpolestes Simpson, 1928 |
| Type species | |
| †Carpolestes nigridens | |
| Species[1] | |
|
†C. dubius Jepsen, 1930 | |
Description
Carpolestes had flattened fingernails on its feet but with claws on its fingers.[2] It appears to have been a distant relative of the Plesiadapiformes, such as Plesiadapis.
Palaeobiology
Palaeoecology
Morphologically, Carpolestes supports Robert Sussman's theory of the co-evolution of tropical fruiting angiosperms and early primates where angiosperms provide nectar and fruits in return for dispersing the seed for tropical rainforest plants.[3] The dental microwear of C. dubius and the wedge formed by its mandibular fourth premolar and its trigonid suggests that it was an omnivore with an affinity for frugivory.[4]
