[Taxacom] Proprimates clade with Euprimates

[Ken Kinman]

Dear All,
      The current issue of PNAS has an article which presents new evidence 
which counters unwarranted criticism of the idea that plesiadapiforms 
("Proprimates") exclusively clade with Euprimates.  As you may remember, the 
classification of Order Primates (which I posted here on taxacom in December 
2004) reflects the viewpoint which this current article supports.

      What is even more exciting to me is their conclusion that this clade 
almost certainly arose just before or just after the K-T extinction event.  
Most likely this indicates a single ancestral primate surviving this 
extinction or a single ancestral form which gave rise to primates and their 
immediate sister group.  Either way, severe extinction events have a way of 
reflecting themselves in our classifications.  And whether strict cladists 
like it or not, this often yields a paraphyletic mother taxon giving rise to 
a rather restricted daughter taxon, whether we realize it or not (given the 
limited fossil record immediately following such extinctions).

       Anyway, here a link to the present paper, followed by the 
classification of Order Primates which I posted in 2004.  It clearly shows 
the paraphyletic (%) nature of Suborder Proprimates (plesiadapiforms) giving 
rise to Eurprimates, as well as Family Pongidae giving rise to Family 
Hominidae.  It's a perfectly natural classification, and the limited use of 
paraphyly renders it maximally stable to further fossil finds and cladistic 
challenges that inevitably occur from varying interpretations that lead to 
conflicting cladistic topologies (and the limited paraphyly is explicit, so 
that cladistic information is retained).  The best of both approaches 
(cladistics and eclecticism) combined into one classification.

     ----Cheers,
              Ken Kinman

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/short/104/4/1159

ORDER PRIMATES (sensu lato)

  1 Proprimates% (plesiadapiforms)
       1  Purgatoriidae
       2  Plesion Pandemonium
       3  Micromomyidae
       4  Paromomyidae
       ?  Picromomyidae
       5  Palaechthonidae
       6  Picrodontidae
       7  Microsyopidae
       8  Plesiadapidae
       9  Carpolestidae
      10  {{Euprimates}}
          (= Strepsirhini + Haplorhini)

_1_ Strepsirhini
       1  Notharctidae
          Sivaladapidae
          Adapidae
       2  Plesiopithecidae
       3  Galagonidae
       B  Loridae
       4  Daubentoniidae
       5  Cheirogaleidae
       6  Megaladapidae
       7  Indriidae (sensu lato)
       8  Lemuridae

  2  Haplorhini (tarsiforms & anthropoids)
       1  Omomyidae
       B  Microchoeridae
       2  Tarsiidae
       3  Afrotarsiidae
       4  Eosimiidae
       5  Amphipithecidae
       B  Parapithecidae
       C  Atelidae
       D  Cebidae
       6  Cercopithecidae
       7  Propliopithecidae
       8  Pliopithecidae
       9  Proconsulidae
       ?  Oreopithecidae
      10  Hylobatidae
      11  Pongidae% (sensu lato)
            1  Dryopithecus
            ?  Ouranopithecus
            2  Lufengpithecus
            B  Sivapithecus
            C  Khoratpithecus
            D  Pongo
            3  Gorilla
            ?  Samburupithecus
            4  Pan
            5  Sahelanthropus
            6  Orrorin
            B  Ardipithecus
            7  {{Hominidae}}
     _a_  Hominidae
            1  Australopithecus% (sensu lato)
           _a_ Homo
*********************************
NOTES:  Haplorhini includes: (1) the paraphyletic Tarsiiformes (first four 
families), (2) the intermediate family Eosimiidae, (3) the Platyrrhini 
(Amphipithecidae to Cebidae), and (4) the Catarrhini (everything else, i.e. 
Clade 6+).  Whether one wants to restrict the clade "Anthropoidea" to just 
(Platyrrhini + Catarrhini), or expand it to include Eosimiidae, is optional 
given this topology.

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