Abstract
We report here a new taxon of fossil tree-shrew from the Śivalik deposits of Haritalyangar in Himachal Pradesh, India. There are no definitive records of fossil tree-shrews, for although two forms, Anagale1 and Adapisoriculus2 have been reported, threir affinities with living tree shrews are disputed. Even the taxonomic position of the tree shrews is controversial, with some workers classifying them as primates3–10 and others disagreeing. Butler11 has suggested that they should be classified in a new order, Scandentia. The skull fragment (PUA I-3) described here is better preserved and much more complete than previous finds, and it has helped us to extend and confirm the identification of the specimens reported in the preceding communication12.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 52 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.83 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Simpson, G. G. Am. Mus. Novitates 505, 1 (1931).
Lemoine, V. Bull. Soc. geol. France 13, 203 (1885).
Carlsson, A. Acta. Zool. 3, 227 (1922).
Le Gros Clark, W. E. Proc. Zool. Soc., Lond. 1, 461 (1924).
Le Gros Clark, W. E. Proc. Zool. Soc., Lond. 2, 1053 (1924).
Le Gros Clark, W. E. Proc. Zool. Soc., Lond. 1, 559 (1925).
Le Gros Clark, W. E. Proc. Zool. Soc., Lond. 2, 1179 (1926).
Le Gros Clark, W. E. Proc. Zool. Soc., Lond. 2, 975 (1932).
Le Gros Clark, W. E. The Antecedents of Man (Edinburgh University Press, 1959).
Le Gros Clark, W. E. The Antecedents of Man, 3rd edn (Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1971).
Butler, P. M. in Studies in Vertebrate Evolution (eds Joycey, K. A. & Kemp, T. S.) 253–265 (Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1972).
Chopra, S. R. K., Kaul, S. & Vasishat, R. N. Nature 281, 213–214 (1979).
Davis, D. D. Field Mus. nat. Hist., Zool. Ser. 20, 383 (1938).
Lyon Jr, M. W., Proc. U.S. natn. Mus. 45, 1 (1913).
Steele, D. G. Symp. fourth int. Cong. Primatol. 3, 154 (1973).
Simpson, G. G. Bull. Am. Mus. nat. Hist. 85, 1 (1945).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chopra, S., Vasishat, R. Śivalik fossil tree shrew from Haritalyangar, India. Nature 281, 214–215 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/281214a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/281214a0
This article is cited by
-
Tupaiine tree shrews (Scandentia, Mammalia) from the Yuanmou Lufengpithecus locality of Yunnan, China
Swiss Journal of Palaeontology (2012)
-
Discovery of cretaceous arboreal eutherians
Naturwissenschaften (1994)
-
Well-groomed predecessors
Nature (1981)
-
Miocene tree shrews from the Indian Śivaliks
Nature (1979)


