Catopithecus

Catopithecus
Temporal range: Late Eocene
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Catopithecus, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: †Oligopithecidae
Genus: †Catopithecus
Simons 1989[1]
Species:
†C. browni
Binomial name
†Catopithecus browni

Catopithecus is an early catarrhine fossil. It is known from more than 16 specimens of a single species, Catopithecus browni, found in the Jebel Qatrani Formation of the Faiyum Governorate, Egypt.[1] The Jebel Qatrani Formation has been divided into two main faunal zones based on the fact that the fauna found in the lower portion of the quarry appear to be more primitive than those found in the upper section.[2] The upper zone has been dated to older than 31 ± 1 myr based on the dating of a basalt layer that lies immediately above the formation and Nicolas Steno’s Law of Superposition.[1] The lower zone contains the late Eocene green shale unit called Locality-41 (L-41) in which all the specimens of Catopithecus browni have been found. The relative dating of L-41 based on paleomagnetic correlations places it at 36 Myr according to Simons et al (1999),[3] but Seiffert (2006) suggests this should be revised to 34.8-33.9 Myr.[4]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Simons_1989 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Simons_1990 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Simons_et_al_1999 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Seiffert Erik R. (Jan 2006). "Revised age estimates for the later Paleogene mammal faunas of Egypt and Oman". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 103 (13): 5000–5005. Bibcode:2006PNAS..103.5000S. doi:10.1073/pnas.0600689103. PMC 1458784. PMID 16549773.