Origins and Evolution of Primatomorpha

Illustration of a Primatomorpha, an early relative of primates.

In the Beard Lab, we are interested in reconstructing major phylogenetic and paleobiogeographic patterns in primate evolution. Current research focuses on the origins of several major clades, including euprimates and anthropoids. We are also interested in documenting how early Cenozoic Primatomorpha were impacted by episodic climate change and how “sweepstakes dispersal” across marine barriers frequently led to the colonization of new terranes, including Africa and Balkanatolia.

Recent Publications

Rust, K., Ni, X., Tietjen, K., and Beard, K.C. 2023. Phylogeny and paleobiogeography of the enigmatic North American primate Ekgmowechashala illuminated by new fossils from Nebraska (USA) and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China). Journal of Human Evolution185: 103452. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103452

Miller, K., Tietjen, K., and Beard, K.C. 2023. Basal Primatomorpha colonized Ellesmere Island (Arctic Canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early Eocene climatic optimum. PLoS ONE18: e0280114. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280114

Boyer, D.M., Schaeffer, L.M., and Beard, K.C. 2021. New dentaries of Chiromyoides (Primatomorpha, Plesiadapidae) and a reassessment of the “mammalian woodpecker” ecological niche. Geobios 66-67: 77-102. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2021.03.002

Mattingly, S.G., Beard, K.C., Salem, M.J., Chaimanee, Y., and Jaeger, J.-J. 2021. A new parapithecine (Primates: Anthropoidea) from the early Oligocene of Libya supports parallel evolution of large body size among parapithecids. Journal of Human Evolution153: 102957. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102957

Beard, K.C., Métais, G., Ocakoğlu, F., and Licht, A. 2021. An omomyid primate from the Pontide microcontinent of north-central Anatolia: Implications for sweepstakes dispersal of terrestrial mammals during the Eocene. Geobios66-67: 143-152. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2020.06.008

Beard, K.C., Jones, M.F., Thurber, N.A., and Sanisidro, O. 2020. Systematics and paleobiology of Chiromyoides (Mammalia, Plesiadapidae) from the Upper Paleocene of western North America and western Europe. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 39: e1730389. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1730389

Mattingly, S.G., Sanisidro, O., and Beard, K.C. 2017. A new species of Carpolestes (Mammalia, Plesiadapoidea) from the late Paleocene of southern Wyoming: assessing changes in size and shape during the evolution of a key anatomical feature. Historical Biology30: 1031-1042. doi:10.1080/08912963.2017.1328509

 

Photo Caption: Upper molars of the enigmatic North American primate Ekgmowechashala from the early Arikareean of Wildcat Ridge, Nebraska (A, B) and its close relative Palaeohodites from the late Eocene of the Baise Basin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China (C, D). The distinctive structure of the “duplicated protocone,” among other features, support a close relationship between these taxa and imply an Asian origin for Ekgmowechashala, the last primate known from North America prior to the arrival of Homo sapiens.

Upper molars of the enigmatic North American primate Ekgmowechashala from the early Arikareean of Wildcat Ridge, Nebraska (A, B) and its close relative Palaeohodites from the late Eocene of the Baise Basin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China (C, D). The distinctive structure of the “duplicated protocone,” among other features, support a close relationship between these taxa and imply an Asian origin for Ekgmowechashala, the last primate known from North America prior to the arrival of Homo sapiens.