Marc Godinot

Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes | EPHE · UMR 7207 CR2P, MNHN, Paris

The initial stages of the evolutionary history of peratheriines, the European herpetotheriid metatherians, are largely unknown, primarily due to their limited morphological dental disparity throughout the Palaeogene, coupled with significant intraspecific variation. Based on eleven molars, we document a new early peratheriine species, Peratherium m...

This contribution contains the three-dimensional models of the most complete and/or informative fossil materials attributed to Peradectes crocheti Gernelle, 2024, the earliest peradectid metatherian species of Europe, from its type locality (Palette, Provence, ∼55 Ma). These specimens were analyzed and discussed in: Gernelle et al. (2024), Taxonomy...

Peradectidae are Paleogene ‘opossum-like’ stem-metatherians, largely Laurasian, whose evolutionary history remains unclear. Based on new remains (mainly dental) discovered in several French localities, we carry out a comprehensive systematic revision of all early Eocene peradectids from Europe (~MP7 reference level to MP10-11 interval). We describe...

New postcranial elements of two mesonychids that lived during the Ypresian (early Eocene) in Europe are here described. The postcranial bones found at La Borie (France; ≈MP8 + 9) can be confidently ascribed to Hyaenodictis raslanloubatieri, while the astragalus found at Palette (France; ≈MP7) probably represents H. rougierae. Our study demonstrates...

A new fauna has been collected from a fissure filling named Cos in the Quercy region, southwestern France. It includes four primate species and a plesiadapiform. The cercamoniine adapiform Protoadapis andrei Godinot and Vidalenc, nov. sp., is represented by material that adds to our knowledge of the genus Protoadapis for the upper canine, upper mol...

The Lophiodontidae are endemic perissodactyls from Europe that flourished during the Eocene. Despite their preponderance in the European fossil record, their exact origin and relationships within the perissodactyls remain unknown due to the rare and fragmentary material in the early Ypresian, the time of their earliest radiation. Lophiaspis maurett...

A variety of attitudes existed among paleontologists faced with evolution, or transformism, in 1840-1870. D’Orbigny, forcefully contributing to stratigraphy, was a catastrophist mand a natural creationist. Brongniart, also catastrophist, had a more religious blend of creationism. D’Omalius d’Halloy and Gérard were explicitely transformists before D...

During the Oligocene, now-extinct monkeys crossed the treacherous ocean from Africa to South America

The Paris Basin has delivered important faunas of fossil mammals from the Thanetian. A rich sample of Late Paleocene mammals has recently been collected from the Marnes de Montchenot in the Montagne de Reims (Marne, France). Study of the new fauna and comparisons with collections from other localities (Cernay, Berru) result in the identification of...

Twenty humeral specimens from the old and new Quercy collections attributed to the fossil primates Adapis and Palaeolemur are described and analysed together. We provide a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the different humeri, revealing that high variability is present within the “Adapis group” sample. Six different morphotypes are identifi...

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) was a French paleontologist and Jesuit who spent many years in China (1926–46). His scientific contributions were in mammalian paleontology and geology, and to a lesser extent in prehistory. Throughout most of his life, he labored to develop a synthesis between science and his Christian faith, for which he bec...

Here we review the fossil record of European mesonychids, which are known only through the genera Dissacus and Pachyaena from Thanetian and Ypresian localities (from MP6 to MP10 reference-levels). We describe two new species, Dissacus rougierae, sp. nov., and Dissacus raslanloubatieri, sp. nov., respectively from Palette (Ypresian, ≈MP7) and from L...

Plesiadapid mammals (Eutheria, Euarchonta, Plesiadapiformes) are well represented in the late Paleocene to early Eocene of Europe (reference levels MP6, MP7 and MP8+9), but relationships among the described species and their links to North American plesiadapids remain disputed. To better understand the evolution of the group in Europe, to explore i...

A new species of the ‘isectolophid’ Chowliia, C. europea, sp. nov., is described from the lowermost Eocene (MP7) Le Quesnoy locality of the Paris Basin. The new species is exclusively known by dental material, and it represents the earliest tapiromorph occurrence in Europe. The morphology of its bunolophodont molars indicates that C. europea is a t...

Diacodexeidae are the first representatives of Artiodactyla in the fossil record. Their first occurrence is at the very base of the Ypresian (earliest Eocene, 56.0 Ma) with Diacodexis, a genus well diversified during the early Eocene in Europe, especially during the MP7–MP8 + 9 interval. However, most of European species are documented by scarce ma...

Computed tomography X-ray imaging of the internal face in well-preserved primate fossil crania permits reconstruction of the nature of their nasal anatomy, including some soft-tissue features. These features are diagnostic of the primate suborder Haplorhini, and allow reevaluation of the phylogenetic status of several purported early members of the...

The initial radiation of primates is best documented on Northern continents, in which two groups are abundant and well-known : the Omomyiformes, often considered to be primitive haplorhines, and the Adapiformes, usually considered to be strepsirrhines. The extinct Adapidae is one of the families of the Adapiformes, which was first documented in Eur...

The fossil record of early primates is largely comprised of dentitions. While teeth can indicate phylogenetic relationships and dietary preferences, they say little about hypotheses pertaining to the positional behavior or substrate preference of the ancestral crown primate. Here we report the discovery of a talus bone of the dentally primitive fos...

The Paleocene-Eocene transition is characterised by the first appearance of perissodactyls. Here, we report new fossil data of perissodactyls from the locality of Le Quesnoy (Oise, France, MP7). This locality has yielded one of the oldest and most complete material of perissodactyls from the MP7 reference level of Europe, and it permits description...

True primates, almost unknown in the Paleocene, diversified rapidly on northern continents during the Eocene. The most abundant and best known are North American and European lemur-like adapiforms and smaller omomyiforms. Several Asiatic groups remain controversial because they are incompletely known, whereas anthropoideans are documented in the la...

Supplementary information of article Scale insect larvae preserved in vertebrate coprolites (Le Quesnoy, France, Lower Eocene): paleoecological insights

Coprolites of terrestrial vertebrates from the Sparnacian Le Quesnoy locality (Ypresian, Eocene, MP7, 53 Ma; Oise, France) were examined for possible parasitic helminth eggs. The extraction of the coprolite components was performed by a weak acetolyse and a slide mounting in glycerin. This long examination did not reveal paleoparasite remains, whic...

To understand the hand of living primates from an adaptive perspective, data on the morphological pattern of the earliest primates is required. This chapter discusses what is known about the early evolution of primate hands based on fossils of Paleogene plesiadapiforms (potential stemprimates), adapiforms, omomyiforms, and anthropoids. Implications...

Whether or not evolutionary lineages in general show a tendency to increase in body size has often been discussed. This tendency has been dubbed “Cope's rule” but because Cope never hypothesized it, we suggest renaming it after Depéret, who formulated it clearly in 1907. Depéret's rule has traditionally been studied using fossil data, but more rece...

The Paleogene primate fossil record is reviewed following higher systematic categories. Among Strepsirhini, Adapiformes underwent Eocene radiations in North America (Notharctinae) and Europe (Cercamoniinae, Adapinae). Several occasional occurrences due to dispersals are found in North America, Europe, and Africa. Asia reveals a limited diversificat...

Questions surrounding the origin and early evolution of primates continue to be the subject of debate. Though anatomy of the skull and inferred dietary shifts are often the focus, detailed studies of postcrania and inferred locomotor capabilities can also provide crucial data that advance understanding of transitions in early primate evolution. In...

Hyaenodontida are represented in Europe by three subfamilies: Proviverrinae, Arfianinae and Sinopaninae. Here, we review all the specimens of Arfianinae and Sinopaninae known to date in Europe and Asia. A new Galecyon species is erected: Galecyon gallus nov. sp. We discuss the taxonomic position of the two Asian hyaenodontidans Anthracoxyaena palus...

We describe here “miacid” taxa from the Early Eocene Paris Basin locality of Le Quesnoy (Oise, France). We describe the new species Vassacyon taxidiotis, the first European record of this genus. The other “miacids” identified from Le Quesnoy are Miacis latouri and Gracilocyon solei. The P4 of G. solei is described here for the first time. Its morph...

95% confidence intervals by group mean and individual indicated by darker and lighter shading, respectively) Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Tim Ryan and Bhart-Anjan Bhuller for use of micro-CT scans of petrosals. Thanks also to Jessie Maisano, Matthew Colbert, and the staff of the UT Austin Micro-CT facility, and to the staff of the Texas Memoria...

The Paleogene primate fossil record is reviewed following higher systematic categories. Among Strepsirhini, Adapiformes underwent Eocene radiations in North America (Notharctinae) and Europe (Cercamoniinae, Adapinae). Several occasional occurrences due to dispersals are found in North America, Europe, and Africa. Asia reveals a limited diversificat...

A diversified fauna of fossil mammals is described from the Thanetian Marnes de Montchenot near Reims (France, Paris Basin). The new fauna is composed mainly of micromammals, which are represented by isolated teeth and a few more complete dental remains. Multituberculates, insectivore-like mammals and louisinine “condylarths” are particularly commo...

Landmarks used for geometric morphometric analysis of the bony labyrinth (specimen: Lepilemur ruficaudatus AIM-11054). Grey arrows anteromedial-to-posterolateral and anterolateral-to-posteromedial directions.

Position within the skull of the left labyrinth of a Adapis parisiensis b Otolemur crassicaudatus, c Tarsius syrichta and d Callithrix jacchus. Left: superior view of the skull and left labyrinth, the superior part of the calvaria being virtually removed. Right stereoscopic lateral view of the left labyrinth within the braincase. In Adapis parisien...

The publication of a well preserved Eocene primate, Darwinius masillae (Cercamoniinae, Notharctidae), has revived the debate on the phylogenetic relationships of Adapiformes and extant primates (Franzen et al., PLos ONE 4(5):e5723, 2009). Recently, Lebrun et al. (J Anat 216:368–380, 2010) showed that the morphology of the bony labyrinth of strepsir...

The locality of Le Quesnoy (France; MP7) has yielded a diversified mammal fauna including especially large mammals. Oxyaenidae are well documented with two spe-cies identified: Oxyaena woutersi and Palaeonictis gigantea. The Le Quesnoy material illustrates almost the entire dentition of these species. Its study supports the generic attribution of O...

Anthropoid primates were among the most common members of Afro-Arabian mammal faunas during the late Paleogene, and they may have been present on that landmass as early as the late Paleocene. Specialists continue to debate the role of Asia in early anthropoid diversification, and whether stem anthropoids originated in Asia or Afro-Arabia, but the A...

The term prosimians is a grouping of all the primates that are outside the anthropoidean, or simian, clade. The suborder Strepsirrhini, which includes two infraorders, Adapiformes and Lemuriformes, to which now needs to be added the informal stem lemuriforms, genera that are more closely related to lemuriforms than to adapiforms, but that do not po...

This volume is a comprehensive review of the African mammalian fossil record over the past 65 million years. The book includes current taxonomic and systematic revisions of all African mammal taxa, detailed compilations of fossil site occurrences, and a wealth of information regarding paleobiology, phylogeny, and biogeography. Primates, including h...

Extant species of the supraordinal mammal clade Euarchonta belong to the orders Primates, Scandentia, or Dermoptera. The fossil record of euarchontans suggests that they underwent their initial radiation during the Paleocene (65-55 million years ago) in North America, Eurasia, and Africa. The time and place of origin is poorly resolved due to lack...

Le gisement de La Borie a livré une faune unique dans l'Éocène inférieur du Sud de la France. Cette étude préliminaire y reconnaît 35 taxons de vertébrés, dont certains inédits pour le Sud de la France (le crocodile Kentisuchus), le Sud de l'Europe (le tillodonte Plesiesthonyx) ou la partie occidentale du continent eurasiatique (l'échassier Eogrus)...

Mammals with more rapid and agile locomotion have larger semicircular canals relative to body mass than species that move more slowly. Measurements of semicircular canals in extant mammals with known locomotor behaviours can provide a basis for testing hypotheses about locomotion in fossil primates that is independent of postcranial remains, and a...

The European Eocene adapiforms include two subfamilies, the Cercamoniinae, present in the early and middle Eocene, and the Adapinae, present in the late Eocene (Franzen, 1994; Godinot, 1998; Fleagle, 1999; Gebo, 2002). The large adap-ine species has a robust upper canine and other characters. It was named Adapis magnus by Filhol (1874), and was lat...

The European Eocene adapiforms include two subfamilies, the Cercamoniinae, present in the early and middle Eocene, and the Adapinae, present in the late Eocene (Franzen, 1994; Godinot, 1998; Fleagle, 1999; Gebo, 2002). The large adapine species has a robust upper canine and other characters. It was named Adapis magnus by Filhol (1874), and was late...

Fossils relevant to lemuriform origins are reviewed. Omanodon seems very close to the other early tooth-combed lemuriforms Karanisia, Wadilemur and Saharagalago, whereas Bugtilemur is rejected from the Lemuriformes. The Djebelemurinae, including Djebelemur and 'Anchomomys' milleri, are considered as stem lemuriforms preceding tooth comb differentia...

Quelques sites nouvellement découverts et/ou exploités dans le paléokarst du Quercy font l’objet d’une brève présentation géomorphologique, d’un inventaire faunique et d’une évaluation biochronologique préliminaires. Ils ont fourni des restes de vertébrés amphibiens, reptiles, oiseaux et mammifères variés, dont certains sont l’objet d’études en cou...

Several aspects of evolutionary history are here taken into consideration. Great events call for external factors, which operate largely by chance. Long evolutionary series manifest directional selections that are constant, orienting morphological changes. Punctuated equilibria and their strong reintroduction of chance factors are criticized. The h...

Four taxa of ceratomorph perissodactyls are identified from the lower Alay beds (latest early Eocene, Ypresian) at the Andarak 2 locality in Kyrgyzstan: the deperetellid Teleolophus medius Matthew & Granger, 1925 (= Deperetella ferganica Belyaeva, 1962), the rhodopagid Pataecops minutissimus (Reshetov, 1979) n. comb. (= Pataecops microdon Reshetov,...

Plusieurs aspects de l’histoire évolutive sont envisagés. Les grands événements font intervenir des facteurs externes qui jouent au hasard. Les grandes séries évolutives montrent des sélections directionnelles constantes, qui orientent les changements morphologiques. Les équilibres ponctués et leur forte réintroduction de hasards sont critiqués. L’...

Summary – Plesiadapis is one of the best-known Plesiadapiformes, a group of Archontan mammals from the Late Paleocene-Early Eocene of Europe and North America that are at the core of debates concerning primate origins. So far, the reconstruction of its locomotor behavior has varied from terrestrial bounding to semi-arboreal scansoriality and squirr...

The Paleocene-Eocene mammalian faunal turnover included the first appearance in northern regions of Eurasia and America of artiodactyls, perissodactyls, primates and hyaenodontids. An origin of these groups in Asia seems very probable (with the exception of hyaenodontids, of possible African origin). Dispersal of these groups is highly contentious,...

Una asociacion fosil muy rica en dientes de Necrolemur, La Bouffie, permite describir en detalle su variabilidad morfologica. Aunque la forma de los incisivos superiores y los caninos inferiores es muy variable, se demuestra que la asociacion es homogénea, representando una unica especie no dimorfa. Se interpreta que tres dientes presentan caracter...

Una asociacion fosil muy rica en dientes de Necrolemur, La Bouffie, permite describir en detalle su variabilidad morfologica. Aunque la forma de los incisivos superiores y los caninos inferiores es muy variable, se demuestra que la asociacion es homogénea, representando una unica especie no dimorfa. Se interpreta que tres dientes presentan caracter...

A new fossil locality is reported from the argiles à lignite du Soisonnais (Early Ypresian, MP7) of the Oise region (France). After the preliminary survey of the flora and the vertebrate and arthropod faunas, we propose a reconstruction of a fluvio-lacustrine palaeoenvironment with a forest, under a warm and wet seasonal climate. This site is outst...

A new fossil locality is reported from the argiles à lignite du Soisonnais (Early Ypresian, MP7) of the Oise region (France). After the preliminary survey of the flora and the vertebrate and arthropod faunas, we propose a reconstruction of a fluvio-lacustrine palaeoenvironment with a forest, under a warm and wet seasonal climate. This site is outst...

The systematics of all adapiforms is reviewed at the generic and specific levels. A new classification is proposed for the 30 genera of adapiforms, containing three families: Notharctidae, Adapidae and Sivaladapidae; and one subfamily of uncertain affinities, the new Pronycticebinae. A stratophenetic schema summarizing the distribution and phylogen...

The study of 13 partial femora and 3 tibiae from late Eocene Quercy localities (France) confirms the distinction of the two adapinine genera Adapis and Palaeolemur. The femora come from both new (Rosières 2 and Escamps) and old collections (of uncertain provenance). They allow the distinction of 5 morphological groups, whose morphological character...