2. Transitionalforms
Plesiadapis
We are called ‘ Almost Adapis’ or else as
‘Lemur likemammals’for we had Lemur like
Body ;Rodentlikehead and teeth for eating fruits;
but we also had a long tailand clawed fingers.
We were also ‘ Squirrels ‘ of Paleoceneyou can say
small ,but grandfatherof real Primatesyou may say
being transitional formsbetween them and their
ancestral protoprimates of lateMesozoicas they say.
We roamedthe jungles of North America in thosedays
and reached Europefrom therevia Greenlandas thy say
We flourished till Eoceneepoch in both continentsmerrily
but then the tideof timeturnedagainstus- grudgingly!
and we becameextinctsoon thereafter-God knows why .?
4. Transitionalforms
Smilodectes
( AphanoLemur )
We were small prosimian primates of Eocene
the firstreal primatesbelongingto Adapiformes
lookinga bit likesquirrels a bit likeLemurs frankly
inhabiting North Americanjungles merrily
tasting juicy leaves, hoppingfrom tree to tree happily
Actuallywe were- folivores specializing in eating leaves
providedwith graspingthumb and toes for climbingtrees
and enablingus to act as ‘Verticalclingersand leapers’
proud progenitorsof a new order of mammals –the‘Primates’
6. Transitionalforms
Darwinius
Hello ! I am Ida Massillae
Of the mammal familyAdapidae
I was named Darwiniusby Scientists
In the honourof Darwin on his bicentenary.
I was also a primate of Eocenejungles
Linking prosimianand simianmammals
being transitional between humanlike
and nonhumanlike, mammal forms
the Anthropoideas & Adapiformes.
I was a small Lemur likefellow as some say
But a cat with a long tail as others say
Main thing,however, was that I had
flexiblearms ,shortlimbs , grasping hands
and thumbs, instead of claws ,which enabled
me to liveon trees eating merrilyfruits& leaves.
8. Transitionalforms
Aegyptopithecus
( Dawn Ape !)
We are also called ‘Egyptianapes’!
but we were morelikeNew world monkeys
Looking morelike American Howler monkeys
but lived actuallymuch beforethem
in hot humidzones of the old world
beforethe split between monkeysand Apes
as a linkbetween Eocene& Mioceneprimates.
We were smalltree dwelling, fruiteating fellows
resemblinglemursand displaying sexual dimorphism
our males beingmuch larger than our females.
10. Transitionalforms
Proconsul
Behindtheirnaming is also a story
they are called ‘BeforeConsul’,merely,
because, by chance, a circus Chimpanzee
called Consul had gainedgreat popularity
in Paris, at the timeof their discovery
They are a linkbetween
Monkeys and Apes
clearlyshowingfeatures
of both type of primates
With Monkey like flexible,long backbone
posture, and Quadrapedlocomotion;
But a missing tale, flexiblearms,
graspingcapability,and facialfeatures
as in the case of an ape
These tree dwellers
of the jungles of Africa were
really ancestors of all Apes
lesser and Greater.
