Fossils counsel early primates lived in as soon as marshy Arctic

The Arctic today is a hostile place for most primates. But a series of fossils discovered since the 1970s show that wasn’t always the case.

Dozens of teeth and jaw fossils unearthed in northern Canada Belongs to two early primates – or at least close relatives of primates – lived in the Arctic some 52 million years ago, researchers reported Jan. 25 in PLOSThe remains are the first primate-like fossils found in the Arctic, suggesting a woodchuck-sized animal may have grazed trees in a swamp that once existed above the Arctic Circle.

The Arctic warmed significantly during that time. But organisms still have to adapt to extreme conditions, such as long winters without sunlight. Those challenges make the emergence of primate-like creatures in the Arctic “unbelievable,” said co-author Chris Beard, a paleontologist at the University of Kansas at Lawrence. “So far, no other primates or close relatives of primates have been found this far north.”

Between frigid temperatures, limited plant growth and months of perpetual darkness, living in the modern Arctic isn’t easy. This is especially true for primates, Evolved from small arboreal organisms Feed mainly on fruit (Serial Number: 6/5/13). Today, most primates—with the exception of humans and a few other anomalous animals, such as the Japanese snow monkey—tend to live in tropical and subtropical forests, mostly near the equator.

But these forests weren’t always confined to their current locations.During the early Eocene, beginning about 56 million years ago, Earth experienced period of intense warming This allowed the forest and its hospitable inhabitants to expand northward (Serial Number: 11/3/15).

Scientists understand this early Arctic climate in part because of decades of paleontological research on Ellesmere Island in northern Canada. These excavations show that the area was once dominated by swamps, unlike those found in the southeastern United States today. This ancient, warm, humid arctic environment is home to a variety of heat-loving animals, including giant tapirs and relatives of crocodiles.

For the new study, Beard and his colleagues examined dozens of tooth and jaw fossils found in the area and concluded they belonged to two species, Ignatius McKennay and Ignatius Dawson. Both species belong to the now extinct genus of small mammals that were widespread in North America during the Eocene. As the planet warms, arctic variants may move north, taking advantage of new habitats that open up near the poles.

Scientists have long debated whether this lineage could be considered true primates, or whether they were just close relatives. Regardless, Mary Silcox, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough University, says finding primates or their relatives in the area is still “very strange and unexpected.”

For one thing, Ellesmere Island was already north of the Arctic Circle 52 million years ago. So while conditions may be warmer and wetter, the swamp is plunged into constant darkness during the winter months.

newcomer Ignatius will have to adapt to these conditions.Unlike their southern relatives, the Arctic Ignatius The researchers found that their jaws and teeth were exceptionally strong, adapted to eating tough foods. This may have helped these early primates eat nuts and seeds during the winter, when fruits were not as readily available.

The research could shed light on how animals adapt to life in extreme conditions. “Ellesmere Island is arguably the best deep-time analog of the temperate, ice-free Arctic,” says Jaelyn Eberle, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Studying how plants and animals adapted to this remarkable period in Arctic history could provide clues to the Arctic’s future inhabitants, Beard said.