Chiromyoides

Chiromyoides
Temporal range: Thanetian-Ypresian (Clarkforkian-Wasatchian)
~56.8–48.6 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Plesiadapiformes
Family: Plesiadapidae
Genus: Chiromyoides
Stehlin, 1916
Type species
Chiromyoides campanicus
Stehlin, 1916
Species

Chiromyoides caesor Gingerich, 1973
Chiromyoides gigas Burger and Honey, 2008
Chiromyoides gingerichi Secord, 2008
Chiromyoides kesiwah Beard et al., 2020
Chiromyoides major Gingerich, 1975
Chiromyoides mauberti De Bast et al., 2018
Chiromyoides minor Gingerich, 1975
Chiromyoides potior Gingerich, 1975

Chiromyoides is a small plesiadapid primatomorph that is known for its unusually robust upper and lower incisors, deep dentary, and comparatively small cheek teeth. Species of Chiromyoides are known from the middle Tiffanian through late Clarkforkian North American Land Mammal Ages (NALMA) of western North America, and from late Paleocene deposits in the Paris Basin, France.

The unique dental morphology of Chiromyoides has led several authors to propose a specialized ecological role for the genus. Gingerich (1976) hypothesized that Chiromyoides was a specialist on seeds, while Szalay and Delson (1979) and Beard et al. (2020) suggested that it may have consumed wood-boring insects in a manner similar to the aye-aye.[1][2][3]

  1. ^ Gingerich PD (1976). "Cranial Anatomy and Evolution of Early Tertiary Plesiadapidae (Mammalia, Primates)". Papers on Paleontology. No. 15. hdl:2027.42/48615.
  2. ^ Szalay FS (1979). Evolutionary history of the primates. Delson, Eric. New York: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-680150-9. OCLC 5008038.
  3. ^ Beard, K. Christopher; Jones, Matthew F.; Thurber, Nicholas A.; Sanisidro, Oscar (2020-04-27). "Systematics and paleobiology of Chiromyoides (Mammalia, Plesiadapidae) from the upper Paleocene of western North America and western Europe". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (6): e1730389. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1730389. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 219070956.