The mission of the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History is to expand the scientific understanding of fossil vertebrates through original research, to collect and
preserve vertebrate fossils through field exploration and curation of our fossil collection, and to
participate in science education through museum exhibitions, public education, and scientific lectures.

News

Click here for more Vertebrate Paleontology discoveries.

New Fossil Primate from Myanmar Suggests that the Common Ancestor of Monkeys, Apes and Humans Originated in Asia, and Challenges the Role of Adapiform Primates Such as “Ida"

According to new research published online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Biological Sciences) on July 1, 2009, a new fossil primate from Myanmar (previously known as Burma) suggests that the common ancestor of humans, monkeys and apes evolved from primates in Asia, not Africa as many researchers believe.

A major focus of recent paleoanthropological research has been to establish the origin of anthropoid primates (monkeys, apes and humans) from earlier and more primitive primates known as prosimians (lemurs, tarsiers and their extinct relatives). Prior to recent discoveries in China, Thailand, and Myanmar, most scientists believed that anthropoids originated in Africa.

According to Chris Beard, the new primate Ganlea megacanina shows that early anthropoids originated in Asia rather than Africa. These early Asian anthropoids differed radically from adapiforms like Ida, indicating that Ida is more closely related to modern lemurs than it is to monkeys, apes and humans. Click here to read the Carnegie Museum press release.

Illustration: Mark A. Klingler, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 2010 Annual Meeting

The Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History was excited to host the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Pittsburgh in 2010. This meeting celebrated the 70th anniversary of SVP.

From its founding in 1895 right up to the present day, Carnegie Museum of Natural History has played a vital role in the development of vertebrate paleontology in North America. The SVP 70th Anniversary Meeting represented a homecoming for the Society, and it provided us with the opportunity to showcase the museum’s recently renovated Mesozoic gallery Dinosaurs in their Time.