Sensory Reconstruction of the Fossil Lorisid : Systematic and Evolutionary Implications.

The fossil record of lorises and pottos (family Lorisidae) potentially dates back to the late Oligocene of Namibia, but a later moderate diversification of this family occurred during the Miocene of Africa and Asia. In the African Miocene, the family Lorisidae is represented solely by one genus: . The phyletic position of has been a source of debate, as it has been suggested to belong to either the stem of the family Lorisidae or to be further nested within lorisids, as a sister to the African potto clade (subfamily Perodicticinae).

Euarchontans from Fantasia, an upland middle Eocene locality at the western margin of the Bighorn Basin.

The fossil record of North American Eocene mammals is best known from relatively low-elevation 'basin center' fossil localities in intermontane depositional basins of the Western Interior. This sampling bias, largely drawn from preservational bias, has limited our understanding of fauna from higher elevation Eocene fossil localities. Here we describe new specimens of crown primates and microsyopid plesiadapiforms from a middle Eocene (Bridgerian) locality ('Fantasia') from the western margin of the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming.

Anatomy and dietary specialization influence sensory behaviour among sympatric primates.

Senses form the interface between animals and environments, and provide a window into the ecology of past and present species. However, research on sensory behaviours by wild frugivores is sparse. Here, we examine fruit assessment by three sympatric primates (, and ) to test the hypothesis that dietary and sensory specialization shape foraging behaviours.

Unique nasal turbinal morphology reveals Homunculus patagonicus functionally converged on modern platyrrhine olfactory sensitivity.

The phyletic position of early Miocene platyrrhine Homunculus patagonicus is currently a matter of debate. Some regard it to be an early member of the Pitheciidae, represented today by the sakis, uakaris, and titi monkeys. Others view Homunculus as a stem platyrrhine, part of a group that diversified in Patagonia and converged in some respects on modern pitheciine dental and gnathic morphology and perhaps seed-eating specialization.

Internal nasal morphology of the Eocene primate Rooneyia viejaensis and extant Euarchonta: Using μCT scan data to understand and infer patterns of nasal fossa evolution in primates.

Primates have historically been viewed as having a diminished sense of smell compared to other mammals. In haplorhines, olfactory reduction has been inferred partly based on the complexity of the bony turbinals within the nasal cavity. Some turbinals are covered in olfactory epithelium, which contains olfactory receptor neurons that detect odorants.