| Branisella | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Family: | Cebidae (see text)[1] |
| Subfamily: | †Branisellinae (see text)[1] |
| Genus: | †Branisella |
| Type species | |
| †Branisella boliviana | |
Branisella is an extinctgenus ofNew World monkey from theSalla Formation of what is nowBolivia during theLate Oligocene, approximately 26 million years ago (Deseadan), comprising only the speciesBranisella boliviana.[2][3] Together with the Peruvian genusCanaanimico, it is the oldest fossil New World monkey discovered.
Withinplatyrrhines, this taxon has been interpreted as either a stem platyrrhine not related to any of the living forms, or as a primitivecallitrichine. One analysis shows it is sister to the clade of all non-pitheciids and should remainincertae sedis.[1] AsBranisella is currently the only South American primate taxon known until theMiocene, more fossils are needed before its phylogenetic position can be clearly established.
It was found in Bolivia by the paleontologistLeonardo Branisa, and it was named after him byHoffstetter, the scientist who first described and classified it in 1969.[4] Morphologically, it is similar toProteropithecus, an Oligocene primate from Africa, in its reduced upper second premolar and unreduced lower second premolar. This suggests the primitive platyrrhine ancestors ofBranisella came to South America from Africa. Other features, however, suggest that it may have been related to theomomyids, an extinct group oftarsier-like primates found in North America, among other places.[5]
Branisella has an estimated body mass of 1,000 g (35 oz).[1] The cheek teeth ofBranisella are very high-crowned, suggesting that it might have been somewhat terrestrial,[6] although this hypothesis cannot be confirmed from bones of the postcranial skeleton (there are none). The known dental specimens show extremely heavy and rapid wear and the first molar tooth is far more worn than the last, suggesting that it included abrasive foods in its diet with very poorly developed cutting edges indicating a diet of fruit.[6] One specimen retains a small part of the orbit and indicates thatBranisella had small eyes and wasdiurnal.
