Carpolestes

Carpolestes Temporal range: Late Paleocene, 61.7–55.8 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N [1]
Carpolestes simpsoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Plesiadapiformes
Family:	†Carpolestidae
Genus:	†Carpolestes Simpson, 1928
Type species
†Carpolestes nigridens
Paleospecies[1]
†C. dubius Jepsen, 1930 †C. nigridens Simpson, 1928 †C. simpsoni Bloch and Gingerich, 1998 †C. twelvemilensis Mattingly, Sanisidro & Beard, 2017

Carpolestes (from Ancient Greek καρπός (karpós), meaning "fruit", and λῃστής (lēistḗs), meaning "robber", and thus, "fruit robber") is a genus of extinct primate-like mammals from the late Paleocene of North America. It first existed around 58 million years ago. The three species of Carpolestes appear to form a lineage, with the earliest occurring species, C. dubius, ancestral to the type species, C. nigridens, which, in turn, was ancestral to the most recently like a Malagasy giant rat or Pacarana occurring species, C. simpsoni.[1]

Carpolestes had flattened fingernails on its feet but with claws on its fingers.[2] It appears to have been a distant relative of the Plesiadapiformes, such as Plesiadapis.

Morphologically, Carpolestes supports Robert Sussman's theory of the co-evolution of tropical fruiting angiosperms and early primates where angiosperms provide nectar and fruits in return for dispersing the seed for tropical rainforest plants.[3] The dental microwear of C. dubius and the wedge formed by its mandibular fourth premolar and its trigonid suggests that it was an omnivore with an affinity for frugivory.[4]

This prehistoric mammal-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

• v
• t
• e