The well-preserved remains of a 55-million-year-old primate have led scientists to a point of divergence between early apes and humanity's ancestral relatives. The species, known as Archiebus achilles, is currently the oldest known primate discovered in such pristine condition.
Dr. Xijun Ni of the Chinese Academy of Sciences led the study which led to this discovery, and noted in a statement that this is "the first time that we have a reasonably complete picture of a primate close to the divergence. [It is] a big step forward in our efforts to chart the course of the earliest phases of primate and human evolution."
The team concluded that Archiebus' modern day descendants are the tiny tarsiers, which populate the islands of south-east Asia. Researchers originally found the fossils in a Chinese lake bed located in the Hubei Province.
Ni adds, "This skeleton will tell us a lot of stories about the origin of primates, and about our remote ancestors."
In order to maintain the integrity of the bones, the French European Synchrotron Radiation Facility examined Archiebus using 3-D imaging technology.
"We are all very curious about the ancestors of primates, including those of human beings," explains Ni.
BBC News notes that the species only weighed 20 to 30g, and that its body stretched out to only 71mm.
The team's study was originally published in the journal Nature.
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