The size of the monkey’s femur bone (far
right) suggested it had “stout legs”
Scientists have examined
fossilised remains of a tiny, extinct monkey that were retrieved from an
underwater cave in the Dominican Republic.
The researchers believe the fossil to be around 3,000 years
old, but say the species itself could be very ancient.
This reveals clues about the origin of primates in the
region.
It also suggests that many ecologically valuable treasures
could be discovered by the unusual field of “underwater palaeontology”.
Dr Alfred Rosenberger from Brooklyn College in New York, US,
led the examination of the creature’s bones, the results of which were
published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B.
He explained that the bones, which included a skull that was
almost complete, were found by a team of scuba divers who were exploring
an underwater cave in the area.
“It’s miraculous that they even saw it,” he told BBC News.
“When they discovered it, they were fearful the bones were
exposed, so they moved the material to a little nook to protect it.”
Having sought official permission to remove the fossil from
the cave, Dr Rosenberger returned to with the scuba divers to retrieve
it in October of last year.
The divers packed the skeleton into tupperware boxes in order
to bring it safely to the surface.
‘Stout little monkey’
Dr Rosenberger said the monkey - only the second specimen of
the species Antillothrix bernensis ever found - probably
measured about 30cm (12in) from head to toe.
Cannot play media.You do not have
the correct version of the flash player. Download
the correct version
The divers packed the fragile little
skeleton into tupperware boxes
But the shape of the legs came as a
surprise.
“Its femur or thigh bone was very thick. So it had sort of
stout legs, which is something we didn’t expect.
“We don’t really have any living examples of New World
monkeys that have stout legs like that.”
It’s now possible to reconstruct what
this mysterious animal looked like and how it evolved”
End Quote
Dr Sam Turvey
Zoological Society of London
Dr Rosenberger thinks the creature went extinct
relatively recently.
He said that it may have behaved similarly to a koala bear -
clinging to the trunks of trees, rather than leaping from branch to
branch.
“That’s a very rough analogy, he said.
“But there’s something very interesting about the ecological
niche it inhabited.”
The fossil also adds to evidence that there were several
lineages of primates in the Caribbean, instead of one ancestor that
moved into the region millions of years ago from which all modern
species evolved.
Dr Rosenberger said it was likely that several species
travelled “over the water” to inhabit the island of Hispaniola.
“And even though these particular bones might be relatively
young, we’re pretty sure that the arrival of these animals occurred well
over 10 million years ago.
Scientists believe the creature went
extinct relatively recently, but may have been very ancient
“That’s an exciting part of the story - if you compare the
dental remains of our monkey to other fossils that we know of, we see
strong similarities with Patagonian fossils that are around 15 million
years old.”
Dr Sam Turvey, a researcher from the Zoological Society of
London in the UK, said the discovery emphasised how much we still had to
learn about the “original mammal fauna” of the Caribbean.
“It’s now possible to reconstruct what this mysterious animal
looked like and how it evolved,” he said.
“The Caribbean islands have experienced the world’s highest
level of mammalian extinction over the past 10,000 years.
“With this improved knowledge of a recently extinct species,
it might be possible to understand what caused it to disappear from
Hispaniola.”

































![Hammerhead5_corbis_via_Fotosearch_shk0011[1]](http://animalreview.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/hammerhead5_corbis_via_fotosearch_shk00111.jpg?w=499&h=333)



Recent Comments