Siamoadapis

Siamoadapis is an extinct genus of adapiform primate. Remains of its only known species, Siamoadapis maemohensis, were found in Thailand.

The fossils were discovered in the lignite layer of a coal mine in Mae Mo district, Lampang Province, northern Thailand, from which it also received its scientific species name. Four lower jaws with teeth were unearthed by a joint team of Thai and French geologists in 2004. It was dated to be 13.1 to 13.3 million years old, and described in 2007 by a team led by geologist Yaowalak Chaimanee (เยาวลักษณ์ ชัยมณี) from the Department of Mineral Resources, Thailand.

The animal was a very small primate, with a body length of 15 centimetres and estimated to have weighted 500 grams. Distinct for the species is the small size and differences in dentition compared to other Miocene sivaladapids.

References

  • "Fossil dated 13m years". The Nation. February 26, 2008. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008.
  • Chaimanee, Y.; Yamee, C.; Tian, P.; Chavasseau, O. & Jaeger, J.-J. (2008). "First middle Miocene sivaladapid primate from Thailand". Journal of Human Evolution. 54 (3): 434–443. Bibcode:2008JHumE..54..434C. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.10.001. PMID 18022213.
Uses material from the Wikipedia article Siamoadapis, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.