Biology:Carpolestes
Carpolestes (from Ancient Greek καρπός (karpós), meaning "fruit", and λῃστής (lēistḗs), meaning "robber", and thus, "fruit robber") is a genus of extinct primate-like mammals from the late Paleocene of North America. It first existed around 58 million years ago. The three species of Carpolestes appear to form a lineage, with the earliest occurring species, C. dubius, ancestral to the type species, C. nigridens, which, in turn, was ancestral to the most recently like a Malagasy giant rat or Pacarana occurring species, C. simpsoni.[1]
Description
Carpolestes had flattened fingernails on its feet but with claws on its fingers.[2] It appears to have been a distant relative of the Plesiadapiformes, such as Plesiadapis.
Palaeobiology
Palaeoecology
Morphologically, Carpolestes supports Robert Sussman's theory of the co-evolution of tropical fruiting angiosperms and early primates where angiosperms provide nectar and fruits in return for dispersing the seed for tropical rainforest plants.[3] The dental microwear of C. dubius and the wedge formed by its mandibular fourth premolar and its trigonid suggests that it was an omnivore with an affinity for frugivory.[4]
References
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedBlochetal01 - ↑ Helen Pilcher "Flower Child" in New Scientist, The Collection, The Human Story (2014)
- ↑ Sussman, Robert “Primate origins and the Evolution of Angiosperms” in American Journal of Primatology Vol 23, No.4 (1991) pp209-223
- ↑ Biknevicius, Audrone R. (October 1986). "Dental function and diet in the carpolestidae (primates, plesiadapiformes)" (in en). American Journal of Physical Anthropology 71 (2): 157–171. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330710204. ISSN 0002-9483. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajpa.1330710204. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
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