Main slab of the Darwinius masillae holotype fossil (specimen PMO 214.214)
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Primates
Suborder:
Strepsirrhini
Family:
†Adapidae
Genus:
†Darwinius Franzen et al., 2009
Species:
†D. masillae
Binomial name
†Darwinius masillae
Franzen et al., 2009
Darwinius is a genus within the infraorder Adapiformes, a group of basal strepsirrhine primates from the middle Eocene epoch. Its only known species, Darwinius masillae, lived approximately 47 million years ago (Lutetian stage) based on dating of the fossil site.[1]
The only known fossil, called Ida, was discovered in 1983[2] at the Messel pit, a disused quarry near the village of Messel, about 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Frankfurt, Germany. The fossil, divided into a slab and partial counterslab after the amateur excavation and sold separately, was not reassembled until 2007. The fossil is of a juvenile female, approximately 58 cm (23 in) overall length, with the head and body length excluding the tail being about 24 cm (9.4 in). It is estimated that Ida died at about 80–85% of her projected adult body and limb length.[3]
The genus Darwinius was named in commemoration of the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and the species name masillae honors Messel where the specimen was found. The creature appeared superficially similar to a modern lemur.[3][4]
The authors of the paper describing Darwinius classified it as a member of the primate family Notharctidae, subfamily Cercamoniinae,[3] suggesting that it has the status of a significant transitional form (a "link") between the prosimian and simian ("anthropoid") primate lineages.[5] Others have disagreed with this placement.[6][7][8]
Concerns have been raised about the claims made about the fossil's relative importance and the publicising of the fossil before adequate information was available for scrutiny by the academic community.[4] Some of Norway's leading biologists, among them Nils Christian Stenseth, have called the fossil an "exaggerated hoax" and stated that its presentation and popular dissemination "fundamentally violate scientific principles and ethics."[9][10][11]
^Mertz, D. F., Renne, P. R. (2005): A numerical age for the Messel fossil deposit (UNESCO World Heritage Site) derived from 40Ar/39Ar dating on a basaltic rock fragment. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg no 255: pp 7–75.
^Randerson, James (May 20, 2009). "Deal in Hamburg bar led scientist to Ida fossil, the 'eighth wonder of the world'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
^ abcCite error: The named reference plos was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference bbc19 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Wilford, John Noble (May 16, 2009). "Analysis Shows German Fossil to Be Early Primate". The New York Times.
^Chris Beard (May 21, 2009). "Why Ida fossil is not the missing link". New Scientist. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
^Fossil primate challenges Ida's place Nature 461, 1040 (2009)
^"'Missing link' primate isn't a link after all". NBC News. October 21, 2009.
^Amundsen, Trond; Folstad, Ivar; Giske, Jarl; Slagsvold, Tore; Stenseth, Nils Chr. 'Ida' er oversolgt Archived 2009-06-06 at the Wayback Machine, Aftenposten
^– Ida er en oversolgt bløff, Nettavisen
^– Dette er ingen 'missing link', Dagbladet, 20 May 2009
genus Darwinius in the subfamily Cercamoniinae of the family Notharctidae within the extinct infraorder Adapiformes of early primates. Darwinius masillae...
subsequent analysis on the Darwinius fossil by Erik Seiffert and colleagues rejects this "missing link" idea, classifying Darwinius and other adapiforms within...
Isotope dilution analysis Ida, a fossil of the early primate genus Darwinius, species Darwinius masillae List of storms named Ida Mount Ida, disambiguation page...
Asia into Africa. However, the early European fauna is exemplified by Darwinius, a basal strepsirrhine dated to 47 million years (early Eocene) The earliest...
usually considered to be Strepsirrhini, such as the Notharctidae, and Darwinius. Pocock, R. I. (1918-03-05). "On the External Characters of the Lemurs...
idea reemerged briefly in 2009 during the media attention surrounding Darwinius masillae (dubbed "Ida"), a cercamoniine from Germany that was touted as...
a toothcomb like modern lemurs; recent analysis has demonstrated that Darwinius masillae fits into this grouping. The latter was closely related to tarsiers...
Introversion Software Darwinia (novel), a 1998 novel by Robert Charles Wilson Darwinius, an extinct primate This disambiguation page lists articles associated...
misunderstandings about primates from the Eocene, as seen with the media coverage of Darwinius. Because the skeletons of adapiforms share strong similarities with those...
September 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2023. "Missing Link fossil discovery Ida - Darwinius masillae - earliest ancestor found". The Faith versus Reason Debate. 2009...
between the pulps of the thumb and index finger is a human characteristic. Darwinius masillae, an Eocene primate transitional fossil between prosimian and...
groups bear Darwin's name; most are insects. Darwinilus, a rove beetle Darwinius, an extinct primate Darwinopterus, a genus of pterosaur Darwinula, a genus...
26 April 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Zimmer, Carl (19 May 2009). "Darwinius: It delivers a pizza, and it lengthens, and it strengthens, and it finds...
pollen, wood, walnuts and grapevines The following is only a partial list: Darwinius masillae, identified in 2009 as an adapiform primate Kopidodon, an extinct...
Global Information
