New Fossil Discovery Sheds Light on Primate Evolution

A recent discovery of a fossilized tooth in Colorado is shedding light on the origins of the earliest primates, specifically a species known as Purgatorius, which lived around 66 million years ago. This finding, detailed in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, suggests that these early mammals spread throughout North America shortly after the dinosaurs' extinction. The fossil represents the southernmost record of Purgatorius, previously only found in Montana and southwestern Canada, thus expanding the known range of early primate ancestors.