Abstract
Recent excavations in Egypt organized by the Geological Survey of Egypt and Duke University have recovered many fossil primate specimens, most of which come from upper levels of the Jebel Qatrani Formation (early Oligocene) including Aegyptopithecus, Propliopithecus, Parapithecus and Apidium1–3. Screening at Quarry E in lower levels of the formation has also revealed a new small anthropoid described as Qatrania wingi. Qatrania is a primitive member of the Parapithecidae and possibly most closely allied to Parapithecus fraasi. This new species is the earliest African anthropoid known, equal in age and from the same quarry as Oligopithecus4. Its small size and details of molar structure point to a mainly frugivorous diet like some extant African prosimians and South American callithrichids.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kay, R. F., Fleagle, J. G. & Simons, E. L. Am. J. phys. Anthrop. 55, 293–322 (1981).
Fleagle, J. G. & Simons, E. L. Folia primatol. 31, 176–186 (1979).
Schlosser, M. Beitr. Paläont. Geol. Öst. Ung. 24, 51, (1911).
Simons, E. L. Postilla, Peabody Museum, Yale Univ. 64, 1–12 (1962).
Berggren, W. A., McKenna, M. C., Hardenbol, J. & Obradovich, J. D. J. Geol. 86, 67–81 (1978).
Bowen, B. E. & Vondra, C. F. Ann. Geol. Surv. Egypt 4, 115–138 (1974).
Ba Maw, Ciochon, R. L. & Savage, D. E. Nature, 282, 65–67 (1979).
Hoffstetter, R. C. r. hebd. Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris, Ser. D 269, 434–437 (1969).
Gingerich, P. D. in Evolutionary Biology of the New World Monkeys and Continental Drift (eds Ciochon, R. & Chiarelli, A. B. ) 123–138 (Plenum, New York, 1979).
Kay, R. F. in Evolutionary Biology of the New World Monkeys and Continental Drift (eds Ciochon, R. L. & Chiarelli, A. B. ) 159–188 (Plenum, New York, 1979).
Simons, E. L. Nature 232, 489–491 (1971).
Szalay, F. S. Nature 236, 179–180 (1972).
Rosenberger, A. L. Int. J. Primat. 2, 1–8 (1981).
Simons, E. L. Postilla 166, 1–12 (1974).
Simons, E. L. & Delson, E. in Evolution of African Mammals (eds Maglio, V. J. & Cooke, H. B. S.) 100–119 (Harvard University, 1978).
Kay, R. F. J. phys. Anthrop. 46, 327–352 (1979).
Gingerich, P. D., Smith, B. H. & Rosenberg, K. Am. J. phys. Anthrop. 58, 81–100 (1982).
Hershkovitz, P. Living New World Monkeys (Platyrrhini) Vol. 1 (University of Chicago, 1979).
Kay, R. F., thesis, Yale Univ. (1973).
Kay, R. F. & Covert, H. H. in Food Acquisition and Processing in Non-human Primates (eds Chivers, D., Wood, B. A. & Bilsborough, A.) (Plenum, New York, in the press).
Cartmill, M., MacPhee, R. D. E. & Simons, E. L. Am. J. Phys. Anthrop. 56, 3–21 (1981).
Conroy, G. C. Contrib. Primatol. 8, 1–134 (1976).
Hoffstetter, R. in Evolutionary Biology of the New World Monkeys and Continental Drift, (eds Ciochon, R. L. & Chiarelli, A. B.) 103–122 (Plenum, New York, 1979).
Delson, E. & Andrews, P. in Phylogeny of the Primates (eds W. P. Luckett & F. S. Szalay) 405–446 (Plenum, New York, 1975).
Szalay, F. S. & Delson, E. Evolutionary History of Primates (Academic, New York, 1979).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Simons, E., Kay, R. Qatrania, new basal anthropoid primate from the Fayum, Oligocene of Egypt. Nature 304, 624–626 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/304624a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/304624a0
This article is cited by
-
Body size ofMacaca anderssoni and its offspring
Human Evolution (1995)
-
Earliest known simian primate found in Algeria
Nature (1992)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.