Nosmips

Nosmips; Temporal range: 38.0–33.9 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Late Eocene
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	incertae sedis
Genus:	†Nosmips; Seiffert, 2010
Species:	†N. aenigmaticus
Binomial name
	†Nosmips aenigmaticus; Seiffert, 2010

Nosmips aenigmaticus is a rare fossil primate known only from 12 teeth. Most teeth were found at a site in the Fayum Depression about 40 miles (64 km) outside Cairo, Egypt.^[3]

Nosmips aenigmaticus probably lived 37 million years ago in Africa and has not been successfully classified within any group of primates.^[4] In particular, it is distinct from the three main branches of primate found in Africa at the time - anthropoids, adapiforms and lemuriforms. It is weakly associated with the Eosimiidae. Its premolars are specialised and the tooth enamel displays extensive signs of pitting, which would appear to be consistent with a diet of either seeds or fruits with hard pits.^[5]

Name

Nosmips is an anagram of Simpson. The name was chosen to honour paleontologist and anagram enthusiast George Gaylord Simpson.

References

^ "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
^ E. R. Seiffert, E. L. Simons, D. M. Boyer, J. M. G. Perry, T. M. Ryan and H. M. Sallam. 2010. A fossil primate of uncertain affinities from the earliest late Eocene of Egypt. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(21):9712-9717
^ Odd mosaic of dental features reveals undocumented primate
^ Yahia, M. 2010. A new evolutionary mystery. Nature.
^ Seiffert, Erik R.; Boyer, Doug M.; Fleagle, John G.; Gunnell, Gregg F.; Heesy, Christopher P.; Perry, Jonathan M. G.; Sallam, Hesham M. (2017-04-10). "New adapiform primate fossils from the late Eocene of Egypt". Historical Biology. 30 (1–2): 204–226. doi:10.1080/08912963.2017.1306522. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 89631627.