| Plesiadapiformes Temporal range: Late Cretaceous–Eocene |
|
|---|---|
| Plesiadapis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Superorder: | Euarchontoglires |
| Order: | †Plesiadapiformes |
| Families | |
|
|
Plesiadapiformes ("near Adapid-like" or "almost Adapiformes") is an extinct order of mammals. It is either closely related to the primates or a precursor to them. Many are too derived to be ancestral to primates, but the earliest Plesiadapiformes have teeth that are strongly indicative of a common ancestor. Purgatorius is believed to be close to the last common ancestor of primates and Plesiadapiformes.
Plesiadapiformes first appear in the fossil record in the Cretaceous period, though many were extinct by the beginning of the Eocene. It is possible that they are the first mammals to have developed finger nails in place of claws.[1]
| Euarchontoglires |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
One possible classification table of plesiadapiform families is listed below.