Darwinius masillae

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Darwinius masillae, a remarkably well preserved fossil specimen.

Darwinius masillae is a transitional form in the order of primates. It is notable for having one of the best preserved fossils from that time, discovered in the 1980s but held in a private collection and away from study until much later.[1] It was named after Charles Darwin as a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of his birth and after the Messel Pit where the fossil was originally found.

The only known fossil of Darwinius masillae, affectionately called Ida, is believed to be a miracle cure for cancer, among other things.[2]

The fossil dates to 47 million years ago, 8 million years after the oldest known primate fossils. Although it undoubtedly possesses features that are transitional between earlier mammals and later primates and simians — opposable thumbs and nails rather than claws, for instance — it is still under discussion and study whether Darwinius masillae is a direct ancestor of humans. On October 22, 2009, a group of anthropologists reported in an article in Nature magazine that Darwinius masillae was most definitely not a direct human ancestor, being in fact more closely related to lemurs. The scientific community had already been highly skeptical of the claims that it was a direct human ancestor, and the anthropologists' findings represented the position of most scientists, according to paleo-anthropologist David Begun.[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. BBC News, May 2009
  2. Science blogs - Darwinius changes everything.
  3. ‘Missing link’ primate isn’t a link after all
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