Comments on the adaptive strategy of the first African anthropoids

Abstract

Fayum anthropoids ranged in body size from about 600 g to about 6,000 g. A similar range of body size is found among extant Cebidae. The Fayum primates are larger than any extant insectivorous primates; this fact probably rules out a predomi nantly insectivorous diet. The molar morphology of these animals is consistant with a frugivorous diet. Parapithecus grangeri stands apart from the other species in having better developed molar shearing, possibly indicating that it had more plant fiber in its diet. Relative orbit size suggests that Apidium may have been diurnal; orbit size for the other species is either unknown or cannot be interpreted. Aegyptopithecus had a relatively small brain by comparison with extant anthropoids, but had considerably reduced olfactory bulbs, and enhanced visual cortex, at a grade of organization comparable to that of extant anthropoids.