Phenacopithecus

Phenacopithecus; Temporal range: Bartonian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	†Eosimiidae
Genus:	†Phenacopithecus; Beard & Wang, 2004
Type species
	Phenacopithecus xueshii; Beard & Wang, 2004
Species
	Phenacopithecus xueshii ; Phenacopithecus krishtalkai ;

Phenacopithecus is an extinct genus of eosimiid primate that inhabited China during the late middle Eocene.^[1]^[2]

Distribution

Fossil remains of both P. xueshii and P. krishtalkai are known from the Heti Formation, located in the Yuanqu Basin.^[1]

Morphology

The maxillary fragment of the holotype of Phenacopithecus krishtalkai indicates that eosimiids possessed a relatively small infraorbital foramen and a deep lower face, extending between the inferior orbital margin and the alveolar border. This morphology suggests that eosimiids lacked the orbital hypertrophy characteristic of living tarsiers and several fossil groups, including omomyids and microchoerids.^[1]

Paleobiology

The relatively small orbits of eosimiids may indicate that they were primarily diurnal.^[3] The body mass of P. xueshii was estimated at 235 grams, and P. krishtalkai at 149.^[4]^[2]

References

1 2 3 Beard, Kenneth Christopher; Wang, Jingwen (April 2004). "The eosimiid primates (Anthropoidea) of the Heti Formation, Yuanqu Basin, Shanxi and Henan Provinces, People's Republic of China". Journal of Human Evolution. 46 (4): 401–432. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.01.002. Retrieved 14 February 2025 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
1 2 Bajpai, Sunil; Kay, Richard F.; Williams, Blythe A.; Das, Debasis P.; Kapur, Vivesh V.; Tiwari, B. N. (2008-08-12). "The oldest Asian record of Anthropoidea". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (32): 11093–11098. doi:10.1073/pnas.0804159105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2516236. PMID 18685095.
↑ Rossie, James B.; Ni, Xijun; Beard, K. Christopher (2006-03-21). "Cranial remains of an Eocene tarsier". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (12): 4381–4385. doi:10.1073/pnas.0509424103. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1450180. PMID 16537385.
↑ Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; Baqri, Syed; Benammi, Mouloud; Chaimanee, Yaowalak; jean-yves, Crochet; Franceschi, Dario; Iqbal, Nayyer; jean-jacques, Jaeger; Métais, Grégoire; Roohi, Dr. Ghazala; Welcomme, Jean-Loup (2005-06-03). "Anthropoid primates from the Oligocene of Pakistan (Bugti Hills): Data on early anthropoid evolution and biogeography". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102: 8436–8441. doi:10.1073/pnas.0503469102.

[BeardWang2004-1-1] 1 2 3 Beard, Kenneth Christopher; Wang, Jingwen (April 2004). "The eosimiid primates (Anthropoidea) of the Heti Formation, Yuanqu Basin, Shanxi and Henan Provinces, People's Republic of China". Journal of Human Evolution. 46 (4): 401–432. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.01.002. Retrieved 14 February 2025 – via Elsevier Science Direct.

[BajpaiKayWilliamsDas2008-1-2] 1 2 Bajpai, Sunil; Kay, Richard F.; Williams, Blythe A.; Das, Debasis P.; Kapur, Vivesh V.; Tiwari, B. N. (2008-08-12). "The oldest Asian record of Anthropoidea". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (32): 11093–11098. doi:10.1073/pnas.0804159105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2516236. PMID 18685095.

[3] Rossie, James B.; Ni, Xijun; Beard, K. Christopher (2006-03-21). "Cranial remains of an Eocene tarsier". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (12): 4381–4385. doi:10.1073/pnas.0509424103. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1450180. PMID 16537385.

[4] Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; Baqri, Syed; Benammi, Mouloud; Chaimanee, Yaowalak; jean-yves, Crochet; Franceschi, Dario; Iqbal, Nayyer; jean-jacques, Jaeger; Métais, Grégoire; Roohi, Dr. Ghazala; Welcomme, Jean-Loup (2005-06-03). "Anthropoid primates from the Oligocene of Pakistan (Bugti Hills): Data on early anthropoid evolution and biogeography". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102: 8436–8441. doi:10.1073/pnas.0503469102.

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