Anatomy and evolution of stem primates

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Non-human primates are of special interest to us as our closest evolutionary kin. In recent years new discoveries of fossils from our earliest relatives, the stem primate group the Plesiadapiformes, has begun to shed light on the first phases of our evolution. This research seeks to continue these advancements through two inter-related initiatives. First, high resolution X-ray CT (catscan) data will be used to reconstruct endocasts (internal models of the skull which reflect brain anatomy) from fossil primates and from our close living and fossil relatives. This research will provide a better understanding of what is primitive for Primates in terms of the size and form of the brain, and to document changes in this critical organ during the first 15 million years of primate evolution. Second, new fossils will be studied and described from the plesiadapiform family Microsyopidae and its close relatives, allowing for a better understanding of the relationships of groups of fossil primates to one another, and of the primitive traits that characterized our ultimate ancestors. The ultimate goal of this research is to fill out the picture of our early evolution in terms of both relationships and patterns of adaptive change, and to help to characterize what makes our Order distinct from the rest of Mammalia.