Scientists say a 47-million-year-old fossil found in Germany may be a key link to explaining the evolution of early primates and, perhaps, telling them about developments that led to modern human beings. The fossil, of a young female that probably resembled a modern-day lemur, is described as "the most complete primate fossil ever found." It is small -- its body is about the size of a raccoon -- but it has characteristics found in later primates and in humans.
"We realized, when I was offered this specimen," said Dr. Jorn Hurum of the University of Oslo, who led the two-year effort to determine the fossil's importance, "that it was the most complete primate in the fossil record."
The fossil was unveiled today amid great fanfare at a news conference at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Hurum nicknamed it "Ida," after his own six-year-old daughter.
It has, among other things, opposable thumbs, similar to humans' and unlike those found on other modern mammals. It has fingernails instead of claws. And by examining the structure of its hind legs (one of which is partly missing), scientists say they can see evidence of evolutionary changes that would eventually lead to primates standing upright.
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