Darwinius
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Darwinius masillae Temporal range: Eocene 47 mya |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Notharctidae |
| Subfamily: | Cercamoniinae |
| Genus: | Darwinius |
| Species: | D. masillae |
| Binomial name | |
| Darwinius masillae Franzen et al., 2009 |
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Darwinius is a genus of primates known from only one fossil. It was discovered in 1983 by an amateur at the Messel Pit. This is a disused shale quarry noted for its astonishing fossil preservation, near the village of Messel, about 35 km (22 miles) southeast of Frankfurt am Main in Germany.
The fosssil dates from the Eocene epoch, 47 million years ago. The genus Darwinius was named to celebrate Charles Darwin on his bicentenary and the species name masillae honors Messel, where the specimen was found. The creature appeared superficially similar to a modern lemur.
The fossil, nicknamed 'Ida', was divided into a slab and partial counterslab after the excavation. The two parts were sold separately, was not reassembled until 2007.
