Darwinius

 






                                                Darwinius Masilae by Julius Csotonyi

Darwinius was a small pro-simian from the middle Eocene, first discovered in 2009. The fossil showed definite prints of its fur, and that it was a female specimen.  It was at first sensationalized as being the first direct ancestor of humans. This was unlikely to be true, and very misleading. Technically, the creature seems to represent a fossil link between lemur-like primates and monkeys. Such an ancestor might well have resembled darwinus, or even have been a near-relative. Though it is less likely that this one species led directly to humans. The probability of this individual of leading directly to us (as sensationalism often implies) is infintesimally small to say the least. Little wonder so many people misunderstand evolution. Nevertheless, she represents a least a near-cousin of our probable ancestors from this time. 


Art by Brent Anderson, for a comics project he is currently working on for me. We were discussing what prehistoric creatures he could include in a lost world, and we kind of agreed about Darwinius. It's only a rough outline at this point, but it's still obvious what these are. 




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