Abstract
All modern classifications of the Primates are based to one degree or another on concepts concerning the phylogeny of the order. The widely used approach of Simpson (1945) in emphasizing grades of evolutionary development divides the Primates into suborders Prosimii and Anthropoidea. Prosimii consists of small-brained primates arranged serially into the infraorders Lemuriformes (Malagasy lemurs), Lorisiformes (lorises), and Tarsiiformes (tarsiers). Tree shrews can also be included at the base of Prosimii either as the first taxon in Lemuriformes or as the separate infraorder Tupaiiformes. In turn, Anthropoidea consists of large-brained primates arranged into the superfamilies Ceboidea (New World monkeys), Cercopithecoidea (Old World monkeys), and Hominoidea (the manlike apes and man). In this scheme, Anthropoidea is the younger of the two suborders, and any fossil primates considered to be ances¬tral to Anthropoidea are placed in Prosimii if they show small brains and other primitive features. To the extent that the anthropoid grade was reached independendy in different lineages, Simpson’s Prosimii and Anthropoidea are both polyphyletic assemblages.
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