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| This is the lone fossil of a species known as Arrhinolemur scalabrinii - or "Scalabrini's noseless lemur." The only problem is that scientists have discovered this "lemur" is actually a fish. (Picture from: http://www.livescience.com/) |
Over the past 114 years, fossils 7 million-year-old from South America is believed to have originated from the species of Arrhinolemur scalabrinii meaning Scalabrini's noseless lemur. However, the results of recent studies that prove that the fossil was not a primate, but a fish.
No wonder if the scientists had been made curious by fossil only one specimen. Moreover, the shape did not resemble fossils of a family of monkeys.
Arrhinolemur scalabrinii, which has been classified as a mammal since it was first described in 1898, now occupies the position, among the family of fish. Successfully corrected the mistake through detailed analysis of Argentine scientists, Oregon State University and the Smithsonian Institution. The results of their analysis were published in the journal Neotropical Ichthyology.
"The name given to the fossils in 1898 should give a clue that there is something wrong there," said Brian Sidlauskas, fisheries experts at the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University who was involved in the study. "The transfer of a species to a different genus is not something odd, but you rarely see any species can be moved to an entirely different class."
Mis-classifications Arrhinolemur scalabrinii started when a fossil collector named Pedro Scalabrini handed a piece of the fossil to the Florentine Ameghino in 1898. He suggested that the fossils were classified in Arrhinolemuroidea, new order bizarre mammal fossils.
Half a century later, scientists George Gaylord Simpson knows the error and suggested that it was not a mammal species, but the species is not yet known. In 1986, Alvaro Mones trace fossil characteristics and stated Arrhinolemur scalabrinii is a member Characidae, subtropical and tropical freshwater fish families.
Finally, two years ago Argentinian scientists Sergio Bogan of the Maimónides University, Natural History Foundation Félix de Azara, and Federico Agnolin, Argentinian Museum of Natural Sciences Bernadino Rivadavia, decided to put the issue to rest. They hooked up with Sidlauskas, who had written a monograph on South American fishes as part of his doctoral work at the University of Chicago, and Richard Vari, an ichthyologist at the Smithsonian. Together, they examined photos and drawings, and made a complete analysis -- from the teeth and jaws to the parietal bones of the skull.
Their conclusion: The lemur without a nose is a fish of the genus Leporinus, family Anostomidae (Characiformes).
"It is the head of a small fish, only a couple of inches long, but it's difficult to tell what it may have grown to," Sidlauskas said. "Fish in that family can be two inches long or two feet long, and there are 150 to 200 species in the family -- all indigenous to South America." Apparently scientists are humans, too, are not free from errors. *** [LIVESCIENCE | SCIENCEDAILY | KORAN TEMPO 4016]
Finally, two years ago Argentinian scientists Sergio Bogan of the Maimónides University, Natural History Foundation Félix de Azara, and Federico Agnolin, Argentinian Museum of Natural Sciences Bernadino Rivadavia, decided to put the issue to rest. They hooked up with Sidlauskas, who had written a monograph on South American fishes as part of his doctoral work at the University of Chicago, and Richard Vari, an ichthyologist at the Smithsonian. Together, they examined photos and drawings, and made a complete analysis -- from the teeth and jaws to the parietal bones of the skull.
Their conclusion: The lemur without a nose is a fish of the genus Leporinus, family Anostomidae (Characiformes).
"It is the head of a small fish, only a couple of inches long, but it's difficult to tell what it may have grown to," Sidlauskas said. "Fish in that family can be two inches long or two feet long, and there are 150 to 200 species in the family -- all indigenous to South America." Apparently scientists are humans, too, are not free from errors. *** [LIVESCIENCE | SCIENCEDAILY | KORAN TEMPO 4016]
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