''Patasola'' is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
New World monkey
New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboi ...
s from the
Middle Miocene
The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), epoch made up of two Stage (stratigraphy), stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene.
The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0. ...
(
Laventan
The Laventan () age is a period of geologic time (13.8 to 11.8 Ma) within the Middle Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Colloncuran and precedes the Mayoan age.
...
in the
South American land mammal age
The South American land mammal ages (SALMA) establish a geologic timescale for prehistoric South American fauna beginning 64.5 Ma during the Paleocene and continuing through to the Late Pleistocene (0.011 Ma). These periods are referred to as age ...
s; 13.8 to 11.8 Ma). Its remains have been found at the
Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of
La Venta
La Venta is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Olmec civilization located in the present-day Mexican state of Tabasco. Some of the artifacts have been moved to the museum "Parque - Museo de La Venta", which is in nearby Villaherm ...
in the
Honda Group of
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. The
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
is ''Patasola magdalenae''.
[''Patasola magdalenae'']
in the Paleobiology Database
The Paleobiology Database (PBDB) is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms.
History
The Paleobiology Database originated in the NCEAS-funded Phanerozoic Marine Pale ...
Etymology
''Patasola magdalenae'' is named after the mythological
Patasola
The Patasola or "single leg" is one of many legends in Colombian folklore about female monsters from the jungle, appearing to male hunters or loggers in the middle of the wilderness when they think about women. The Patasola appears in the form ...
("one foot"), a forest spirit of the
Gran Tolima region of Colombia. The species
epithet
An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
refers to the
Magdalena River
The Magdalena River (, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, ...
in which valley the fossils were found.
[Kay & Meldrum, 1997, p.438]
Description
Fossils of ''Patasola'', a small insectivorous/frugivorous primate,
[Kay & Meldrum, 1997, p.458] were discovered in both the
La Victoria and
Villavieja Formations above and below the "Monkey Beds" of the
Honda Group, that has been dated to the
Laventan
The Laventan () age is a period of geologic time (13.8 to 11.8 Ma) within the Middle Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Colloncuran and precedes the Mayoan age.
...
, about 13.4 to 11.8 Ma.
[Kay & Meldrum, 1997, p.437][Wheeler, 2010, p.133]
The type mandible of ''Patasola magdalenae'' is a juvenile specimen.
[Kay & Meldrum, 1997, p.440] The estimated weight of ''Patasola'' was ,
[Silvestro, 2017, p.14] similar in size to the extant genus ''
Leontopithecus
The four species of lion tamarins or maned marmosets make up the genus ''Leontopithecus''. They are small New World monkeys named for the mane surrounding their face, similar to the mane of a lion.
Description
Living in the eastern rainforests ...
''.
[Defler, 2004, p.32]
The genus is included in the
Callitrichidae
The Callitrichidae (also called Arctopitheci or Hapalidae) are a family of New World monkeys, including marmosets, tamarins, and lion tamarins. At times, this group of animals has been regarded as a subfamily, called the Callitrichinae, of th ...
,
[Takai et al., 2001, p.290] after an initial description as an intermediate between the Callitrichidae and ''
Saimiri
Squirrel monkeys are New World monkeys of the genus ''Saimiri''. ''Saimiri'' is the only genus in the subfamily Saimiriinae. The name of the genus is of Tupi origin (''sai-mirím'' or ''çai-mbirín'', with ''sai'' meaning 'monkey' and ''mirím' ...
''.
[Tejedor, 2013, p.29]
Habitat
The Honda Group, and more precisely the "Monkey Beds", are the richest site for
fossil primates in South America.
[Rosenberger & Hartwig, 2001, p.3] It has been argued that the monkeys of the Honda Group were living in habitat that was in contact with the
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
and
Orinoco Basins, and that La Venta itself was probably seasonally dry forest.
[Lynch Alfaro et al., 2015, p.520] The authors of the publication about ''Patasola'' however suggests the presence of
rain forest
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
.
[
]
See also
* List of primates of Colombia
The primates of Colombia include 41 extant species in 13 genera and five families. Additionally, 12 fossil species in 10 genera and five families have been identified in Colombia, mainly at the La Venta (Colombia), La Venta Lagerstätte of the Hond ...
* ''Lagonimico
''Lagonimico'' is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene (Laventan in the South American land mammal ages; 13.8 to 11.8 Ma). Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Co ...
''
* '' Mohanamico''
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{Taxonbar, from2=Q18584530, from1=Q1583299
†Patasola
Prehistoric monkeys
Miocene extinctions
Miocene primates of South America
Laventan
Neogene Colombia
Fossils of Colombia
Honda Group, Colombia
magdalenae
Fossil taxa described in 1997