Sivaladapis
Sivaladapis is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in Asia during the middle Miocene.
| Sivaladapis Temporal range: Middle Miocene | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Strepsirrhini |
| Family: | †Sivaladapidae |
| Subfamily: | †Sivaladapinae |
| Genus: | †Sivaladapis Gingerich & Sahni 1979 |
| Type species | |
| †Sivaladapis palaeindicus Gingerich & Sahni 1979 | |
| Species | |
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Sivaladapis is an extinct, adapiform primate genus that belongs to the family Sivaladapidae. Two species of Sivaladapis are currently recognized, S. nagrii and S. palaeindicus. Sivaladapis is considered one of the latest surviving genera of adapiform primates, existing well into the Miocene of South Asia. Compared to other adapiform primates, the fossil record of Sivaladapis is limited, lacking any cranial or postcranial fossil material. The genus is known exclusively from isolated fossil teeth and partial dentaries and maxillae recovered from the Chinji Formation (Siwalik Group) of India and Pakistan.
Both S. nagrii and S. palaeindicus are considered a fairly large adapiforms, with body-size estimates ranging from 2.6 to 3.4 kilograms. The prominent and well-developed shearing crests on its molars and premolars suggests the genus was adapted to a predominately folivorous diet, subsisting on fibrous leaves. It has been hypothesized that the extinction of Sivaladapis around 8 million years ago was the result of the immigration of leaf-eating colobine monkeys to South Asia, where they directly competed with Sivaladapis.