Necrolemur

Necrolemur
Temporal range: Middle Eocene–Late Eocene
Restoration
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorrhini
Family: Omomyidae
Genus: †Necrolemur
Filhol, 1873
Species
  • †?N. antiquus
  • N. zitteli

Necrolemur ("dead lemur") is an extinct genus of primate.

The 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long creature probably resembled a tarsier; it was a nocturnal hunter with very large eyes and ears. Necrolemur had sharp teeth, which it probably used to bite through tough insect exoskeletons. Like modern tarsiers, it also possessed long fingers and toes, and a lengthy, balancing, tail.[1] It was also characterised by a short face, a narrow gap between the eyes, a tubular ectotympanic and a relatively large brain.[2]

Fossils of this animal have been found in western Europe.

References

  1. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 288. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  2. Fossil Primates from the University of Leeds

External links

Necrolemur sp. skull
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 06, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.