Dolichocebus gaimanensis


TAXONOMY:

MORPHOLOGY:
Dolichocebus gaimanensis had a dental formula of 2:1:3:3 on both the upper and lower jaws (Fleagle, 1988). The canines on this species are small, and the canines also show sexual dimorphism (Fleagle and Kay, 1997). The upper molars have a moderate-sized hypocone and a broad lingual cingulum (Fleagle, 1988). The molars are also broad and have a paraconule (Fleagle, 1988). This species has upper molars which were quadritubercular (Conroy, 1990). The interorbital dimension is very narrow and the orbits are medium sized; this species has complete postorbital closure (Fleagle, 1988). This species has an interorbital foramen which links the right and left orbits (Conroy, 1990). The brain size of Dolichocebus gaimanensis is similar to extant platyrrhines (Fleagle, 1988). This species has a talus similar to Cebus or Saimiri species (Fleagle, 1988). This species had an average body mass of around 2.7 kilograms (Fleagle, 1988).

RANGE:
Dolichocebus was found on the continent of South America, in the country of Argentina (Fleagle, 1988). This species occurred during late Oligocene to early Miocene (Fleagle, 1988). The fossil remains were found in Chubut Province near Gaiman (Fleagle and Kay, 1997).

DIET:
Based upon the dental morphology this was a frugivorous species (Fleagle, 1988).

LOCOMOTION:
Based on talus morphology this species was either an arboreal quadruped or a leaper (Fleagle, 1988).

REFERENCES:
Conroy, G.C. 1990. Primate Evolution. W.W. Norton and Co.: New York.

Fleagle, J.G. 1988. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Academic Press: New York.

Fleagle, J.G. and Kay, R.F. 1997. Platyrrhines, Catarrhines, and the Fossil Record. In New World Primates: Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. Ed. W.G. Kinzey. Aldine de Gruyter: New York.

Last updated: November 16, 2001

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