National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Oldest Primate Fossil in North America Discovered


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Magnified images reveal the fine tooth structure of Teilhardina magnoliana, a newly discovered species believed to be the oldest known primate in North America.

The tiny, 55-million-year-old creature raises the controversial possibility that primates arrived in the Americas thousands of years before they reached Europe, according to the fossils' discoverer.

Images courtesy of PNAS/National Academy of Sciences (copyright 2008)