Europolemur


Europolemur is a genus of adapiformes primates that lived in Europe during the middle Eocene.

Morphology

Europolemur klatti is part of a group of long-digited fossils, and most likely approximates early euprimate hand proportions. E. klatti has a grasping hallux and there is evidence that supports that E. klatti may have had nails instead of claws. This insinuates that stabilizing the tips of the digits and hand must have in some way been an important function for them and their lifestyle in their habitat. Relative to the forearm, the hand of E. klatti was large which may be related to vertical climbing or posture. The shape of the calcaneus resembles that found in Smilodectes and Notharctus and E. klatti had an average body mass of 1.7 kilograms.

Dentition

In 1995, two isolated upper molars belonging to E. klatti were found in an old lake deposit during excavations done by the "Naturhistorisches Museum Mainz/Landessammlung fur Naturkunde Rheinland-Pfalz". The museum determined that the molars were representative of the first primates from the Middle Eocene Eckfeld maar in Southwest Eifel, Germany. E. klatti has a dental formula of and a deciduous dentition of. One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the genus Europolemur is the lack of a metaconule. The dental anatomy of their genus is described in more detail by Franzen as consisting of "upper canines big and pointed; upper molars without postflexus; postprotocrista prominent; no metaconulus; M3 smaller and shorter than M2; P4 much shorter than broad, with a weak parastyle; P4 with a small and unicuspid talonid and a metaconid present to absent; protocristid of M nearly transversely oriented. Protoconid of P3 little higher than that of P4."

Literature cited