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September 8, 2008 5:12:31 AM CDT

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Tiny Monkey Fossil Spurs Scientific Flap

Posted Mar 4, 08 1:10 PM CST in Science & Health 

(Newser) – A diminutive fossil recently found in Mississippi is the oldest primate discovered in North America, and its exact age is raising questions about the timing of prehistoric animal migrations, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The existence of the tiny, tarsier-like creature, which could fit in the palm of a human hand, suggests that the primates migrated to North America across the Bering land bridge.

The paleontologist who discovered Teilhardina magnoliana says the rock layers where the little guy was found indicate that he lived 55 million years ago—making him older than similar fossils unearthed in Europe. That contradicts findings by other scientists that the primates spread from China to Europe to America. Either way, the fossil offers information about the local climate: warm and muggy.

Sources Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, National Geographic

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Teilhardina magnoliana, the tiny primate making big news.   (Illustration: Mark A. Klingler/CMNH)
The newly discovered primate fossils are distant relatives of today's tarsier.   ((c) yeowatzup)
The tiny tarsier may be the long-lost descendant of Teilhardina magnoliana, the 55-million-year-old primate just discovered for the first time in North America.   ((c) ideonexus)
The Red Hot Truck Stop, behind which Beard and his colleagues found the fossil bed that yielded the Teilhardina magnoliana.   (Paul Chaney)
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