Afrasia

Af-ray-se-ah.
Published on

Liam Carter

Paleoanthropologist

Liam Carter explores the roots of humanity by studying early human fossils and artifacts. His ground-breaking work has provided a deeper understanding of our ancestors' lifestyles and social structures.

Cite Feedback Print

Name

Afrasia ‭(‬Africa Asia‭)‬.

Phonetic

Af-ray-se-ah.

Named By

Y.‭ ‬Chaimanee,‭ ‬O.‭ ‬Chavasseau,‭ ‬K.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Beard,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Kyaw,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬N.‭ ‬Soe,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Sein,‭ ‬V.Lazzari,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Marivaux,‭ ‬et al.‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Primates,‭ ‬Haplorhini,‭ ‬Eosimiiformes,‭ ‬Afrotarsiidae.

Diet

Uncertain.

Species

A.‭ ‬djijidae‭

Size

Estimated about‭ ‬100‭ ‬grams.

Known locations

Republic of the Union of Myanmar‭ ‬-‭ ‬Pondaung Formation.

Time Period

Early Priabonian of the Eocene.

Fossil representation

Only known from teeth.

In Depth

       Although only named from isolated teeth,‭ ‬Afrasia was still a significant discovery because the teeth were those of an eosimiid primate.‭ ‬The discovery of Afrasia in Asia lends weight to the theory that the eosimiids evoled in Asia and then radiated out into Africa,‭ ‬though this is still a controversial theory with many unexplained factors,‭ ‬the largest of which is how could eosimiids have migrated from Asia to Africa when the two continents were still separated by ocean.‭ ‬Convergent evolution where two sets of isolated animals develop the same features could explain this,‭ ‬but it‭ ‬may be best to take time to study the complexities while new discoveries are made.‭ ‬The fact that eosimiid primates are known from both Africa and Asia ended up being the inspiration of the name Afrasia.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬New sivaladapid primates from the Eocene Pondaung Formation of Myanmar and the anthropoid status of Amphipithecidae‭ ‬-‭ ‬K.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Beard,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Marivaux,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬T.‭ ‬Tun,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬N.‭ ‬Soe,‭ ‬Y.‭ ‬Chaimanee,‭ ‬W.‭ ‬Htoon,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Marandat H.‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Aung,‭ ‬et al.‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007. -‭ ‬Late Middle Eocene primate from Myanmar and the initial anthropoid colonization of Africa.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Y.‭ ‬Chaimanee,‭ ‬O.‭ ‬Chavasseau,‭ ‬K.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Beard,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Kyaw,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬N.‭ ‬Soe,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Sein,‭ ‬V.Lazzari,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Marivaux,‭ ‬et al.‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.

Never Miss a New Species or Fossil Discovery!

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Isotelus
Megalodon illustration