Oldest Primate Finds Its Place on the Tree of Life

This 55-million-year-old pint-sized primate was a leaper and creeper. 

By Shannon Palus
Jan 20, 2014 7:00 PMNov 14, 2019 10:30 PM
Archicebus-achilles-2.jpg
Archicebus achilles lived 55 million years ago. | Paul Tafforeau/ESRF and Xijun Ni/CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

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If members of Archicebus achilles were alive today, they would fit in the palm of your hand. But the little creatures lived 55 million years ago. In June, paleomammalogist Xijun Ni and his team presented the new species. “Archie,” as it’s dubbed by some, is the oldest primate skeleton to date.

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