Mammal
Eosimias sinensis
Eosimias sinensisAlso known as Dawn Monkey, Chinese Dawn Monkey
Eosimias sinensis scurried through the warm, lush subtropical canopies of middle Eocene China roughly 45 million years ago. Barely the size of a modern pygmy marmoset, it hunted small insects and nibbled fruits high above the ground. Its tiny fossilized jaws and ankle bones preserve the earliest recognized anatomical features uniting early primates with the higher simian lineage that eventually produced monkeys, apes, and humans.
Fossil PrimateArboreal
—observations
—countries
—peak records
ExtinctConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXExtinctRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preyInsects, Forest fruits, Plant sap
Predators
- Early carnivoramorphs
- Paleogene raptors
- Arboreal snakes
ThreatsPaleoclimatic cooling, forest fragmentation, and competition
HabitatsSubtropical rainforest canopies
Life span5–10 years (estimated)
Classification
- OrderPrimates
- FamilyEosimiidae
- GenusEosimias
- SpeciesEosimias sinensis
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
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- Why interaction risk is low
- Extinct species known only from Paleogene fossil deposits.
Responsible observation
- Museum Study: Examine casts of diminutive fossil teeth in paleontology exhibits.
- Comparative Anatomy: Observe the transition between primitive prosimian and anthropoid jaw morphology.
Image unavailableContemporary Primate 
Close Relative DiBgd / CC BY-SA 4.0 · cc-by-saClose Relative Ancient Relative
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