The strange fate of Ekgmowechasala, the last of the American apes

Existence itselfEkgmuwishala It was somewhat mysterious. Paleontologists knew that the very unique small animal that weighed about 2 kg and looked like a lemur was the last ape to inhabit the area corresponding to the American Great Plains today, but the evolution of this species remained poorly understood. Its place among primates has been debated.

Due to their unique shape and the fact that they are represented only by dental remains, their place in mammalian evolution has been debated, but the consensus has tended to classify them as those of primates.explains in a press release paleontologist Kathleen Rust, of the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute, lead author of the work published in the journal Journal of Human Evolution (A new window) (in English).

North American monkeys

The first primates appeared in North America about 56 million years ago, and they flourished on the continent for more than 20 million years. Then they all disappeared 34 million years ago, when the planet became colder and drier, making the continent inhospitable to these normally heat-loving animals.

gold, Ekgmuwishala It appears in the fossil record of the Great Plains more than 4 million years after the extinction of all other ape species in North America.

To try to understand what might appear to be an anomaly, the Chinese-American team of paleontologists wanted to reconstruct the creature’s family tree.Ekgmuwishala. To do this, Kathleen Rust and her colleagues at the University of Kansas and the Beijing Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology analyzed fossilized teeth and jaws discovered in Nebraska in the 1960s, and other eerily similar fossils discovered in the 1990s in the Guangxi region of China.

We have compiled a large set of morphological data to create an evolutionary tree showing a close relationship between Ekgmowechashala from North America and fossils from China.

Thus, according to paleontologists, the presence of…Ekgmuwishala In North America it would not be the result of the evolution of older primates that adapted to cooler, drier conditions that led to the extinction of other primates on the continent.

According to Kathleen Rust, ancestorsEkgmuwishala It would have better have come from a species that arrived from Asia via the Bering Strait millions of years later, under certain scenarios similar to the scenario of the arrival of the first humans.

In addition, The simultaneous presence ofEkgmuwishala In Oregon and the Great Plains indicates that the last non-human primates became extinct in North America about 26 million years agonote the study authors.

He rose from the dead

Types such as Ekgmuwishalawhich suddenly appear in the fossil record long after their parents have disappeared, are called Lazarus varietiesIn reference to the biblical character who raised Jesus from the dead.

After disappearingEkgmuwishalaNo species of primate had inhabited the North American continent for more than 25 million years, until the arrival of the first Homo sapiens.

The arrival of humans in North America marked the third chapter in the history of primates on this continent. Like Ecom. kgmowechashalaNorth American humans are a prime example of the Lazarus effect.

Adapt or disappear

Paleontologist Kathleen Rust believes that…Ekgmuwishala It’s worth saying becauseThis occurred at a time of profound environmental and climate change, like ours, due to human activity.

It is essential to understand how extinct species responded to such changes. In such cases, organisms typically adapt by retreating to areas more suitable for resources, or are threatened with extinction.

This is exactly what happened about 34 million years ago, when not all primate species in North America were able to adapt to survive.

North America did not have the conditions necessary for their survival. This highlights the importance of access to resources for our non-human primate relatives (bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas) in times of drastic climate change.Kathleen Rust adds.

Understanding this narrative not only humbles us, it also helps us appreciate the depth and complexity of the dynamic planet in which we live.

It allows us to understand the complex workings of nature, the power of evolution in the emergence of life and the influence of environmental factors“, notes the American paleontologist.