Nosmips
Extinct genus of primates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nosmips aenigmaticus is a rare fossil primate known only from 12 teeth. Most teeth were found at a site in the Fayum Depression about 40 miles (64 km) outside Cairo, Egypt.[3]
| Nosmips Temporal range: Late Eocene[1] | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | incertae sedis |
| Genus: | †Nosmips Seiffert, 2010 |
| Species: | †N. aenigmaticus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Nosmips aenigmaticus Seiffert, 2010[2] | |
Nosmips aenigmaticus probably lived 37 million years ago in Africa and has not been successfully classified within any group of primates.[4] In particular, it is distinct from the three main branches of primate found in Africa at the time - anthropoids, adapiforms and lemuriforms. It is weakly associated with the Eosimiidae. Its premolars are specialised and the tooth enamel displays extensive signs of pitting, which would appear to be consistent with a diet of either seeds or fruits with hard pits.[5]
Name
Nosmips is an anagram of Simpson. The name was chosen to honour paleontologist and anagram enthusiast George Gaylord Simpson.