Proprimates

Proprimates is a hypothetical ancestral group of mammals that is theorized to have given rise to the primate order. While there is no direct fossil evidence of Proprimates, their existence is inferred from comparative anatomy and molecular data. Scientists believe that Proprimates emerged in the Late Cretaceous period, possibly from an insectivorous mammalian lineage. These early mammals would have possessed traits that were pre-adaptive for a primate lifestyle, such as generalized paws with five digits and possibly early adaptations for arboreal locomotion.

The concept of Proprimates is crucial for understanding the evolutionary trajectory of primates. By positing this ancestral group, researchers can bridge the gap between earlier placental mammals and the earliest known definitive primates, such as the plesiadapiforms. Plesiadapiforms, which appeared in the Paleocene epoch, exhibit some primate-like features but also possess primitive characteristics that suggest they diverged from the main primate lineage before or during the emergence of true primates. Therefore, Proprimates represent the theoretical point of divergence from which both true primates and groups like plesiadapiforms ultimately evolved.

The study of Proprimates relies heavily on phylogenetic reconstruction, using genetic sequences and skeletal structures of modern and extinct mammals to infer ancestral relationships. The characteristics attributed to Proprimates are extrapolated from the commonalities found in the earliest primates and their closest mammalian relatives, suggesting a small, likely nocturnal, arboreal mammal with generalized dentition and possibly early signs of binocular vision. The existence of Proprimates remains a theoretical construct, a placeholder for an ancestral population whose specific morphology and ecology are pieced together through evolutionary inference.