Fossils show ancient primates had grooming claws as well as nails – Research News
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Evolution<br>Fossils show ancient primates had grooming claws as well as nails
by Natalie van Hoose •<br>June 20, 2018
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Humans and other primates are outliers among mammals for having nails instead of claws. But how, when and why we transitioned from claws to nails has been an evolutionary head-scratcher.
Now, new fossil evidence shows that ancient primates – including one of the oldest known, Teilhardina brandti – had specialized grooming claws as well as nails. The findings overturn the prevailing assumption that the earliest primates had nails on all their digits and suggest the transition from claws to nails was more complex than previously thought.
“We had just assumed nails all evolved once from a common ancestor, and in fact, it’s much more complicated than that,” said Jonathan Bloch, study co-author and Florida Museum of Natural History curator of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Florida.
The findings are scheduled to publish today in the Journal of Human Evolution.
Florida Museum photo by Kristen Grace" border="0" itemprop="url"> These tiny fossils belonged to Teilhardina brandti, an ancient, mouse-sized primate. The bone on the left once supported a grooming claw while the bone to the right undergirded a nail. " data-medium-file="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/12/1804230048-Edit-600x399.jpg" data-large-file="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/12/1804230048-Edit-1024x682.jpg" src="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/12/1804230048-Edit-1024x682.jpg" width="772" height="514" data-original-width="772" data-original-height="514" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" alt="tiny fossils on a fingernail" style="width: 772px; height: 514px;" /> These tiny fossils belonged to Teilhardina brandti, an ancient, mouse-sized primate. The bone on the left once supported a grooming claw while the bone to the right undergirded a nail. Florida Museum photo by Kristen Grace
Image by Boyer et al. in the Journal of Human Evolution" border="0" itemprop="url"> These images created from CT scans show side and top views of a bone that supported a grooming claw, left, and a nail, right. Researchers attribute these fossils to Teilhardina brandti, one of the earliest primates, based on their size and similarity to existing primates. The fossils were found in Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, which was home to this ancient primate 56 million years ago. " data-medium-file="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2018/01/Bighorn_Wa0_Final-600x324.jpg" data-large-file="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2018/01/Bighorn_Wa0_Final-1024x554.jpg" src="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2018/01/Bighorn_Wa0_Final-1024x554.jpg" width="420" height="227" data-original-width="420" data-original-height="227" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" alt="CT scans" style="width: 420px; height: 227px;" /> These images created from CT scans show side and top views of a bone that supported a grooming claw, left, and a nail, right. Researchers attribute these fossils to Teilhardina brandti, one of the earliest primates, based on their size and similarity to existing primates. The fossils were found in Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, which was home to this ancient primate 56 million years ago. Image by Boyer et al. in the Journal of Human Evolution
Florida Museum photo by Kristen Grace" border="0" itemprop="url"> Paleontologist Jonathan Bloch examines Teilhardina brandti fossils. The research team found the fossils, smaller than a grain of rice, by screen washing sediment and then picking through the remaining contents under a microscope. " data-medium-file="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/12/1804230031-Edit-600x404.jpg" data-large-file="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/12/1804230031-Edit-1024x690.jpg" src="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/12/1804230031-Edit-1024x690.jpg" width="420" height="283" data-original-width="420" data-original-height="283" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" alt="man looking into microscope" style="width: 420px; height: 283px;" /> Paleontologist Jonathan Bloch examines Teilhardina brandti...