The Oldest North American Primate and Biogeography During PETM (Case Study 3)

1. The Oldest North American Primate and Biogeography During PETM(Case Study 3) Jonathan Najarro John Patterson Rui Liu Landon Medina

2. Geologic Time • Primates and several other mammals first appeared in North America during PETM • PETM is the rapid global warming that occurred after the Paleocene-Eocene border (~56 Ma)

3. Organism In Study • Teilhardina, of which the most basal(primitive) in North America was T magnoliana, which had an average body mass of 28g. Their calorie-rich diet included fruits, Gums, and insects. Possessed a diurnal(daytime) activity pattern. It was an active arboreal quadruped that also engaged in powerful leaping.

4. Research of T mognoliana • The teeth of magnoliana are most similar to T asiatica, which suggests that they are both basal members of Teilhardina • Fossils of magnoliana were found in the lenticullarfine-grained sand body that forms the uppermost part of the Tuscahoma Formation in Mississippi. Sediments comprising the sand there were carried by estuarine tidal channels that were deposited close to the shoreline. • Stratigraphic info suggest that magnoliana is older than both the species found in Bighorn Basin in Wyoming and all of the European species

6. Migration from Asia to North America

7. Migration • They favored warm and relatively humid environment. • Teilhardina originated in Asia and migrated to North America via the Beringia Land Bridge, before the eustatic sea level fall and settled in coastal North America. • During the major sea level drop in PETM, they migrated to Europe via the North Atlantic Land Bridge. • When the precipitation level decreased they migrated from coastal North America to the Rocky Mountain Interior where precipitation increased. • The reasoning for Teilhardina populating specific areas is likely due to a climate and/or food preference, like a humid paratropical environment.

8. Thank you!