Palaechthon nacimienti


TAXONOMY:

MORPHOLOGY:
Palaechthon nacimienti had a relatively small braincase (Fleagle, 1988). This species had a short premaxilla (Kay and Cartmill, 1977; cited in Martin, 1990). This species had small orbits, directed laterally, and a broad interorbital region (Fleagle, 1988). A broad interorbital region may suggest a large olfactory fossa and this would suggest a greater reliance on the sense of smell (Fleagle, 1988). This species possessed a large infraorbital foramen (Fleagle, 1988). This species had an average body mass of around 150 grams (Fleagle, 1988). This species had a dental formula of 2:1:3:3 on both the upper and lower jaw (Martin, 1990).

RANGE:
Palaechthon nacimienti was found on the continent of North America and occurred during the middle Paleocene (Fleagle, 1988).

DIET:
Based upon dental morphology this species was most likely an insectivore (Kay and Cartmill, 1977; cited in Conroy, 1990).

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.

Kay, R.F. and Cartmill, M. 1977. Cranial Morphology and Adaptation of Palaechthon nacimienti and Other Paromomyidae (Plesiadapoidea, Primates), with a Description of a New Genus and Species. Journal of Human Evolution, Vol. 6, 19-53.

Martin, R.D. 1990. Primate Origins and Evolution: A Phylogenetic Reconstruction. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey.

Last updated: November 15, 2001

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