|
BANGKOK, 7 January 2010 (NNT) - Fossils of the world's oldest primate, aged 35 million years, have been discovered in a coal mine in the southern province of Krabi.
Ms Yaowalak Chaimanee, a senior fossil expert and geologist at the Mineral Resources Department unveiled that the fossils were named "Siamopithecus eocaenus", also known as the Siam Ape and were believed to be older than the ones found in Africa. The oldest primate fossil in Africa was only 27 million years old. The knowledge on the fossils in Asia was published in the scientific journal "Anatomical Record" in November this year.
Ms Yaowalak elaborated further that the fossils, discovered at a coal mine in Nua Khlong district, included lower right molars and upper left and right molars attached to the eye socket. The primate was thought to have been the same size as a gibbon and weighed about 6-7kg. The fossils were considered the most perfect pieces of primate fossils in the nation. Thai archaeologists earlier found pieces of incomplete and delicate fossils in 1996 at the same location.
|
|
|
Reporter : Weeranuwat Saengsawang
Print this page
Close
