View source for Evolution of primates

{{Short description|Origin and diversification of primates through geologic time}}
[[File:Haplorrhini2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Phylogenetic tree]] of the primates]]
[[File:Notharctus tenebrosus AMNH.jpg|thumb|''[[Notharctus]]'']]
The [[evolution]]ary history of the [[primate]]s can be traced back 57-90 million years.<ref>{{harvnb|Maxwell|1984|p=296}}
*{{cite journal |author1=Rui Zhang |author2=Yin-Qiu Wang |author3=Bing Su |date=July 2008 |title=Molecular Evolution of a Primate-Specific microRNA Family |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=25 |issue=7 |pages=1493–1502 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msn094 |pmid=18417486 |doi-access=free }}
*{{cite journal |last=Willoughby |first=Pamela R. |year=2005 |title=Palaeoanthropology and the Evolutionary Place of Humans in Nature |journal=International Journal of Comparative Psychology |publisher=[[International Society for Comparative Psychology]] |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=60–91 |doi=10.46867/IJCP.2005.18.01.02 |doi-access=free }}
*{{harvnb|Martin|2001|pp=12032–12038}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Tavaré |first1=Simon |author-link1=Simon Tavaré |last2=Marshall |first2=Charles R. |last3=Will |first3=Oliver |last4=Soligo |first4=Christophe |last5=Martin |first5=Robert D. |author-link5=Robert D. Martin |display-authors=3 |date=April 18, 2002 |title=Using the fossil record to estimate the age of the last common ancestor of extant primates |journal=Nature |location=London |publisher=Nature Publishing Group |volume=416 |issue=6882 |pages=726–729 |doi=10.1038/416726a |pmid=11961552 |bibcode=2002Natur.416..726T }}</ref> One of the oldest known primate-like mammal species, ''[[Plesiadapis]]'', came from North America;<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rose |first=Kenneth D. |year=1994 |title=The earliest primates |journal=Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews |location=Hoboken, NJ |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=159–173 |doi=10.1002/evan.1360030505 }}
*{{cite web |url=http://alltheworldsprimates.org/John_Fleagle_Public.aspx |title=Primate Evolution |last1=Fleagle |first1=John |author-link1=John G. Fleagle |last2=Gilbert |first2=Chris |year=2011 |editor1-last=Rowe |editor1-first=Noel |editor2-last=Myers |editor2-first=Marc |website=All The World's Primates |publisher=Primate Conservation, Inc. |location=Charlestown, RI |access-date=2015-04-27}}
*{{cite news |last=Roach |first=John |date=March 3, 2008 |title=Oldest Primate Fossil in North America Discovered |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080303-american-primate.html |work=National Geographic News |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=National Geographic Society |access-date=2015-04-27}}
*{{cite news |last=McMains |first=Vanessa |date=December 5, 2011 |title=Found in Wyoming: New fossils of oldest American primate |url=http://gazette.jhu.edu/2011/12/05/found-in-wyoming-new-fossils-of-oldest-american-primate/ |newspaper=The Gazette |location=Baltimore, MD |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University]] |access-date=2015-04-27}}
*{{cite news |last=Caldwell |first=Sara B. |date=May 19, 2009 |title=Missing link found, early primate fossil 47 million years old |url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/272808 |work=Digital Journal |location=Toronto, Canada |publisher=digitaljournal.com |access-date=2015-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522013306/http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/272808 |archive-date=22 May 2009 }}
*{{cite news |last=Watts |first=Alex |date=May 20, 2009 |title=Scientists Unveil Missing Link In Evolution |url=http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/15284582 |work=[[Sky News|Sky News Online]] |location=London |publisher=[[Sky (United Kingdom)|BSkyB]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728005247/http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/15284582 |archive-date=2011-07-28 |access-date=2015-04-27}}</ref> another, ''[[Archicebus]]'', came from China.<ref name="NYT-20130605">{{cite news | last = Wilford | first = J. N. | title = Palm-size fossil resets primates' clock, scientists say | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/science/palm-size-fossil-resets-primates-clock-scientists-say.html | date = June 5, 2013 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = June 5, 2013}}</ref> Other similar basal primates were widespread in Eurasia and Africa during the tropical conditions of the [[Paleocene]] and [[Eocene]].
''[[Purgatorius]]'' is the genus of the four extinct species believed to be the earliest example of a primate or a proto-primate, a primatomorph precursor to the Plesiadapiformes, dating to as old as 66 million years ago.
The surviving tropical population of primates, which is seen most completely in the upper Eocene and lowermost Oligocene fossil beds of the [[Faiyum]] depression southwest of Cairo, gave rise to all living species—[[lemur]]s of Madagascar, [[loris]]es of [[Southeast Asia]], [[galago]]s or "bush babies" of Africa, and the [[Simian|anthropoids]]: [[New World monkey|platyrrhine or New World monkeys]], [[Catarrhini|catarrhine]]s or Old World monkeys, and the [[Ape|apes]], including ''[[Homo sapiens]]''.
== Origins ==
{{expand section|date=July 2020}}
The origins and early evolution of primates is shrouded in mystery due to lack of fossil evidence. They are believed to have split from [[Plesiadapiformes|plesiadapiforms]] in Eurasia around the early Eocene or earlier. The first true primates so far found in the fossil record are fragmentary and already demonstrate the major split between [[Strepsirrhini|strepsirrhines]] and [[Haplorhini|haplorines]].
== Evolution of strepsirrhines ==
{{expand section|date=July 2020}}
The earliest strepsirrhines are known as [[Adapiformes|adapiforms]], a diverse group that ranged throughout Eurasia and North America. An early branch of this [[clade]] gave rise to [[Lemuriformes|lemuriform]] primates, which includes [[lemur]]s and their kin.
David Begun has theorised that early primates flourished in Eurasia and that a lineage leading to the African apes and humans, including ''[[Dryopithecus]]'', migrated south from [[Europe]] or Western Asia into Africa.<ref name="Kordos-p17">{{cite journal |last1=Kordos |first1=László |last2=Begun |first2=David R. |date=January 2001 |title=Primates from Rudabánya: allocation of specimens to individuals, sex and age categories |journal=[[Journal of Human Evolution]] |location=Amsterdam, the Netherlands |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=17–39 |doi=10.1006/jhev.2000.0437 |pmid=11139358|bibcode=2001JHumE..40...17K }}</ref> However, the early European fauna is exemplified by ''[[Darwinius]]'', a [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] [[Strepsirrhini|strepsirrhine]] dated to 47 million years (early [[Eocene]])<ref name="plos">{{Cite journal | last1 = Franzen | first1 = J. L. | last2 = Gingerich | first2 = P. D. | last3 = Habersetzer | first3 = J. | last4 = Hurum | first4 = J. H. | last5 = Von Koenigswald | first5 = W. | last6 = Smith | first6 = B. H. | editor1-first = Hawks | editor1-last = J.| doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0005723 | title = Complete primate skeleton from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany: morphology and paleobiology| journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 4 | issue = 5 | pages = e5723 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19492084| pmc = 2683573 | bibcode = 2009PLoSO...4.5723F | doi-access = free }}</ref>
== Evolution of haplorrhines ==
{{expand section|date=July 2020}}
The earliest haplorrhine primates from the fossil record are the [[Omomyidae|omomyids]], which resembled modern day [[tarsier]]s. Like the strepsirrhine adapiforms, omomyids were diverse and ranged throughout Eurasia and North America. The [[Phylogenetic tree|phylogeny]] of omomyids, tarsiers, and [[simian]]s is currently unknown.
For many years, it was assumed that primates had first evolved in Africa, and this assumption and the excavations that resulted from it yielded many early simian fossils that chronicled their evolution. Due to the lack of fossils linking simians to the earliest haplorrhines, a more recently discovered [[Crown group#Stem groups|stem group]] called [[Eosimiidae|eosimiids]] found in Asia are thought to have dispersed to Africa and evolved into simians. Eosimiids were very small and similar to tarsiers, though their dentition more closely resembles that of simians.
== Evolution of color vision ==
{{main|Evolution of color vision in primates}}
Some of the primates' vertebrate ancestors were [[tetrachromat]]s, but their nocturnal mammalian ancestors lost two of their four cones during the mesozoic. Most modern primates, however, have evolved to be [[trichromat]]s. All old world monkeys and apes are trichromats, but new world monkeys are polymorphic trichromats, meaning that males and homozygous females are [[dichromat]]s while heterozygous females are trichromats (with the exceptions of [[howler monkey]]s and [[night monkey]]s, who have more and less robust color vision respectively).
There are four prevailing theories as to what the evolutionary pressure was for primates to develop trichromatic vision. The Fruit Theory suggests that it was easier for trichromatic primates to find ripe fruit against a green background. While there is data supporting the Fruit Theory, there is some dispute about whether or not [[trichromacy]] was more advantageous for determining how ripe fruit was up close or spotting fruit from afar. The Young Leaf hypothesis suggests that primates with more advanced color vision could better spot younger and more nutritious leaves during fruit shortages, while there are also theories that suggest more advanced color vision was better for recognizing changes in skin tone, allowing primates to better determine the blood [[oxygen saturation]] of others. Still other theories suppose that primates' color vision evolved alongside their sense of smell, though research has shown no direct correlation between concentration of olfactory receptors and acquisition of color vision.
== Evolution of New World monkeys ==
{{expand section|date=September 2024}}
Following the emergence of Simiformes in Africa, [[Platyrrhini]] split from [[Catarrhini]] during the Eocene when New World monkeys dispersed to South America, likely by [[Oceanic dispersal|rafting on mats of vegetation]] across the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic is estimated to have been possibly 1,000 km (600 mi) narrower, based on estimates from the expansion of the Atlantic [[mid-ocean ridge|mid-ocean ridge formation processes]] (25 cm/1 in per year.) It is also possible that during this rafting process, there were a number of islands between Africa and South America which have since been submerged.
[[Bayes' Theorem|Bayesian estimates]] of divergence time using "conservative but realistic fossil constraints" have indicated the [[most recent common ancestor]] of new world monkeys to have existed between 27-31 million years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Perez |first1=S. Ivan |last2=Tejedor |first2=Marcelo F. |last3=Novo |first3=Nelson M. |last4=Aristide |first4=Leandro |title=Divergence Times and the Evolutionary Radiation of New World Monkeys (Platyrrhini, Primates): An Analysis of Fossil and Molecular Data |journal=PLOS ONE |date=27 June 2013 |volume=8 |issue=6 |pages=e68029 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0068029 |doi-access=free |pmid=23826358 |pmc=3694915 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...868029P }}</ref>
== Evolution of Old World monkeys ==
The earliest known [[Catarrhini|catarrhine]] is ''[[Kamoyapithecus]]'' from uppermost Oligocene at Eragaleit in the [[Great Rift Valley, Kenya|northern Kenya Rift Valley]], dated to 24 million years ago.<ref>{{harvnb|Cameron|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fnqzb4_UVfkC&pg=PA76 76]}}</ref> Its ancestry is thought to be species related to ''[[Aegyptopithecus]]'', ''[[Propliopithecus]]'', and ''[[Parapithecus]]'' from the Faiyum depression, at around 35 million years ago.<ref>{{harvnb|Wallace|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YoyQQEOKGVQC&pg=PA240 240]}}</ref> In 2010, ''[[Saadanius]]'' was described as a close relative of the last common ancestor of the [[Crown group|crown]] catarrhines, and tentatively dated to 29–28 million years ago, helping to fill an 11-million-year gap in the fossil record.<ref name="2010Zalmout">{{cite journal |last1=Zalmout |first1=Iyad S. |last2=Sanders |first2=William J. |author-link2=William J. Sanders |last3=MacLatchy |first3=Laura M. |last4=Gunnell |first4=Gregg F. |last5=Al-Mufarreh |first5=Yahya A. |last6=Ali |first6=Mohammad A. |last7=Nasser |first7=Abdul-Azziz H. |last8=Al-Masari |first8=Abdu M. |last9=Al-Sobhi |first9=Salih A. |last10=Nadhra |first10=Ayman O. |last11=Matari |first11=Adel H. |last12=Wilson |first12=Jeffrey A. |last13=Gingerich |first13=Philip D. |date=15 July 2010 |title=New Oligocene primate from Saudi Arabia and the divergence of apes and Old World monkeys |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |location=London |publisher=[[Nature Publishing Group]] |volume=466 |issue=7304 |pages=360–364 |bibcode=2010Natur.466..360Z |doi=10.1038/nature09094 |pmid=20631798 |display-authors=3}}</ref> Notable species also include ''Nsungwepithecus'' ''gunnelli'' and ''Rukwapithecus fleaglei'' of the Oligocene.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossils-indicate-common-ancestor-old-world-monkeys-apes/|title=Fossils Indicate Common Ancestor for Old World Monkeys and Apes|last=Palmer|first=Chris|date=2013-05-16|work=Scientific American|access-date=2017-09-13|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Proconsul skeleton reconstitution (University of Zurich).JPG|thumb|Reconstructed tailless ''[[Proconsul (mammal)|Proconsul]]'' skeleton]]
In the early [[Miocene]], about 22 million years ago, the many kinds of arboreally adapted primitive catarrhines from East Africa suggest a long history of prior diversification. Fossils dated to be 20 million years old include fragments attributed to ''[[Victoriapithecus]]'', believed to be the earliest Old World monkey.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} Among the genera thought to be in the ape lineage leading up to 13 million years ago are ''[[Proconsul (mammal)|Proconsul]]'', ''[[Rangwapithecus]]'', ''[[Dendropithecus]]'', ''[[Limnopithecus]]'', ''[[Nacholapithecus]]'', ''[[Equatorius]]'', ''[[Nyanzapithecus]]'', ''[[Afropithecus]]'', ''Heliopithecus'', and ''[[Kenyapithecus]]'', all from East Africa.
The presence of other generalized non-cercopithecids of the middle Miocene age from sites far distant—''[[Otavipithecus]]'' from cave deposits in Namibia, and ''[[Pierolapithecus]]'' and ''[[Dryopithecus]]'' from France, Spain and Austria—is evidence of a wide diversity of forms across Africa and the Mediterranean basin during the relatively warm and equable climatic regimes of the early and middle Miocene. The youngest of the Miocene hominoids, ''[[Oreopithecus]]'', is from coal beds in Italy that have been dated to 9 million years ago.
Molecular evidence indicates that the lineage of [[gibbon]]s (family [[Hylobatidae]]) diverged from Great Apes some 18–12 million years ago, and that of [[orangutan]]s (subfamily Ponginae) diverged from the other Great Apes at about 12 million years; there are no fossils that clearly document the ancestry of gibbons, which may have originated in a so-far-unknown South East Asian hominoid population, but fossil proto-orangutans may be represented by ''[[Sivapithecus]]'' from India and ''[[Griphopithecus]]'' from Turkey, dated to around 10 million years ago.<ref>{{harvnb|Srivastava|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kCerOsM8XMwC&pg=PA87 87]}}</ref>
=== Human evolution ===
{{main|Human evolution}}
{{see also|Homo sapiens#Evolutionary history of Primates}}
[[Human evolution]] is the [[evolution]]ary process that led to the emergence of [[anatomically modern humans]], beginning with the [[Primate evolution|evolutionary history]] of [[primate]]s – in particular [[genus]] ''[[Homo]]'' – and leading to the emergence of ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' as a distinct species of the [[Hominid|hominid family]], the great apes. This process involved the gradual development of traits such as  [[Human skeletal changes due to bipedalism|human bipedalism]] and [[language]].<ref name="HallHallgrímsson2011c">{{cite book|author1=Brian K. Hall|author-link1=Brian K. Hall|author2=Benedikt Hallgrímsson|title=Strickberger's Evolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CrJsNQ5wX8oC&pg=PA488|year=2011|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers|isbn=978-1-4496-6390-2|page=488}}</ref>
The study of [[human]] evolution involves many scientific disciplines, including [[Biological anthropology|physical anthropology]], [[primatology]], [[archaeology]], [[paleontology]], [[neurobiology]], [[ethology]], [[linguistics]], [[evolutionary psychology]], [[embryology]] and [[genetics]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Heng |first=Henry H. Q. |date=May 2009 |title=The genome-centric concept: resynthesis of evolutionary theory |journal=[[BioEssays]] |location=Hoboken, NJ |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |volume=31 |issue=5 |pages=512–525 |doi=10.1002/bies.200800182 |pmid=19334004 }}</ref> Genetic studies show that primates diverged from other [[mammal]]s about {{Mya|85}}, in the [[Late Cretaceous]] period, and the earliest [[fossil]]s appear in the [[Paleocene]], around {{Mya|55}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/meet-your-ancestors.html |title=Meet Your Ancestors |last=Tyson |first=Peter |date=July 1, 2008 |work=[[Nova ScienceNow|NOVA scienceNOW]] |publisher=[[PBS]]; [[WGBH Educational Foundation]] |access-date=2015-04-18}}</ref>
Within the superfamily [[Hominoidea]] ([[ape]]s), the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Hominidae]] diverged from the family [[Gibbon|Hylobatidae]] (gibbons) some 15–20 million years ago; African [[great ape]]s (subfamily [[Homininae]]) diverged from [[orangutan]]s ([[Ponginae]]) about {{Mya|14}}; the tribe [[Hominini]] (humans, ''Australopithecines'' and other extinct biped genera, and [[Pan (genus)|chimpanzee]]) parted from the tribe [[Gorillini]] ([[gorilla]]s) between {{Mya|9}} and {{Mya|8}}; and, in turn, the subtribes [[Hominina]] (humans and biped ancestors) and [[Panina]] ([[chimpanzee]]s) separated about {{Mya|7.5}} to {{Mya|5.6}}.<ref name="Dawkins R 2004">{{harvnb|Dawkins|2004}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.timetree.org/index.php?taxon_a=Hominidae&taxon_b=Hylobatidae&submit=Search |title=Find Time of Divergence: Hominidae versus Hylobatidae |website=[[TimeTree]] |access-date=2015-04-18}}</ref>
== Evolution of the pelvis ==
In primates, the [[pelvis]] consists of four parts—the left and the right [[hip bone]]s which meet in the mid-line ventrally and are fixed to the sacrum dorsally and the [[coccyx]]. Each hip bone consists of three components, the [[Ilium (bone)|ilium]], the [[ischium]], and the [[Pubis (bone)|pubis]], and at the time of sexual maturity these bones become fused together, though there is never any movement between them. In humans, the ventral joint of the pubic bones is closed.
The most striking feature of evolution of the pelvis in primates is the widening and the shortening of the blade called the [[Ilium (bone)|ilium]]. Because of the stresses involved in bipedal locomotion, the muscles of the thigh move the thigh forward and backward, providing the power for bi-pedal and quadrupedal locomotion.<ref>{{harvnb|Campbell|1998|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=p-L-1BXTNLEC&pg=PA170 170]}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Evolution of mammals]]
* [[List of fossil primates]]
* [[Primate#Evolution]]
* [[Timeline of human evolution]]
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Cameron |first=David W. |year=2004 |title=Hominid Adaptations and Extinctions |location=Sydney |publisher=UNSW Press |isbn=978-0-86840-716-6 |lccn=2004353026 |oclc=57077633 }}
* {{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Bernard |year=1998 |title=Human Evolution: An Introduction to Man's Adaptations |edition=4th |location=New York |publisher=[[Transaction Publishers|Aldine de Gruyter]] |isbn=978-0-202-02042-6 |lccn=98008760 |oclc=39323020 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Dawkins |first1=Richard |title=The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life |date=2004 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn=978-0-297-82503-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uwqoQgAACAAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Martin |first=Robert D. |author-link=Robert D. Martin |editor1-last=Smelser |editor1-first=Neil J. |editor1-link=Neil Smelser |editor2-last=Baltes |editor2-first=Paul B. |editor2-link=Paul Baltes |encyclopedia=[[International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences]] |year=2001 |edition=1st |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |location=Amsterdam; New York |isbn=978-0-08-043076-8 |lccn=2001044791 |oclc=47869490 |doi=10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/03083-7 |chapter=Primates, Evolution of |pages=12032–12038 }}
* {{cite book |last=Maxwell |first=Mary |year=1984 |title=Human Evolution: A Philosophical Anthropology |location=New York |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-05946-6 |lccn=83024005 |oclc=10163036 }}
* {{cite book |last=Srivastava |first=R. P. |year=2009 |title=Morphology Of The Primates And Human Evolution |location=New Delhi |publisher=PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. |isbn=978-81-203-3656-8 |oclc=423293609 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wallace |first=David Rains |author-link=David Rains Wallace |year=2004 |title=Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution |location=Berkeley, CA |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-23731-5 |lccn=2003022857 |oclc=56733801 |page=240 }}
{{Refend}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-395562-3.X5001-2 |title=Evolutionary and Genetic Biology of Primates |date=1964 |isbn=978-0-12-395562-3 |editor1-first=John |editor1-last=Buettner-Janusch }}
* {{cite book |doi=10.1016/C2009-0-01979-5 |title=Primate Adaptation and Evolution |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-12-378632-6 |first1=John G. |last1=Fleagle }}
* {{cite book |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139087247.004 |chapter=The evolution of social monogamy in primates |title=Monogamy |date=2003 |last1=Schaik |first1=Carel P. Van |last2=Kappeler |first2=Peter M. |pages=59–80 |isbn=978-0-521-81973-2 }}
== External links ==
* [https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/earlyprimates/early_2.htm The First Primates] at anthro.palomar.edu
[[Category:Evolution of primates| ]]