This group includes the ancestors of mammals and lived alongside reptiles for millions of years. They eventually died out, except for the lineage that led to mammals.
Plesiadapis, a proto-primate, is an example of a fruit-insect eater likely similar to our direct-line ancestors around this time. Class: Mammal; Early Primate (Plesiadapiformes) Time Period: Late Paleocene Diet: Likely Frugivorous/Insectivorous
Plesiadapis: First fruit-insect eaters. Read More »
The appendix is a small, finger-shaped pouch attached to the large intestine. It has long been considered a vestigial organ, meaning that it has no function in the human body. However, recent research suggests that the appendix may actually serve as a reservoir for beneficial gut bacteria. The appendix is an example of a Phenotype
Within mammals, only primates have binocular vision, grasping hands, and flat nails–instead of claws. Purgatorius might have had all three earning it the earliest known proto-primate label. It lived in Eastern Montana about 66 million years ago during the very last years of the Cretaceous period. It lived through the K-T extinction event and the extinction
Purgatorius — Earliest known proto-primate. Read More »
