Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 17 April 1987:
Vol. 236. no. 4799, pp. 314 - 316
DOI: 10.1126/science.3426662
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Science, Vol 236, Issue 4799, 314-316
Copyright © 1987 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Climbing adaptations in the early eocene mammal Chriacus and the origin of artiodactyla

KD Rose

A virtually complete articulated skeleton of the arctocyonid Chriacus, recently found in northern Wyoming, is one of the most intact early Eocene mammal skeletons ever found. It exhibits numerous adaptations characteristic of mammals that climb, including strong bony crests and processes (reflecting powerful musculature), ability for considerable forearm supination, a highly mobile ankle joint, plantigrade feet, curved and transversely compressed claws, and a long, possibly semiprehensile tail. These features contrast sharply with those of the oldest artiodactyls and indicate that Chriacus or a similar arctocyonid was not ancestral to the Artiodactyla, as has been proposed.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The Late Permian herbivore Suminia and the early evolution of arboreality in terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems.
J. Frobisch and R. R. Reisz (2009)
Proc R Soc B 276, 3611-3618
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)