Tiny Chinese Archicebus fossil is oldest primate yet found

[DrLeftover]

A mouse-sized fossil from China has provided remarkable new insights into the origin of primates.

At 55 million years old, it represents the earliest known member of this broad group of animals that includes humans.

Scientists have called the diminutive creature Archicebus, which roughly translates as "ancient monkey".

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And it would suggest the first of these anthropoids were, likewise, petite creatures scurrying through the tropical canopies that grew to cover the Earth shortly after the dinosaurs' extinction.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22770646