NEW EARLY EOCENE ANAPTOMORPHINE PRIMATE (OMOMYIDAE) FROM THE WASHAKIEBASIN, WYOMING, WITH COMMENTS ON THE PHYLOGENY AND PALEOBIOLOGY OF ANAPTOMORPHINES

Recent paleontological collecting in the Washakie Basin, southcentral Wyoming, has resulted in the recovery of over 100 specimens of omomyid primates from the lower Eocene Wasatch Formation. Much of what is kno wn about anaptomorphine omomyids is based upon work in the Bighorn and Wind River Basins of Wyoming. This new sample documents greater taxon omic diversity of omomyids during the early Eocene and contributes to our understanding of the phylogeny and adaptations of some of these ea rliest North American primates. A new middle Wasatchian (Lysitean) ana ptomorphine, Anemorhysis savagei, n. sp., is structurally intermediate between Teilhardina americana and other species of Anemorhysis and ma y be a sister group of other Anemorhysis and Trogolemur. Body size est imates for Anemorhysis, Tetonoides, Trogolemur, and Teilhardina americ ana indicate that these animals were extremely small, probably less th an 50 grams. Analysis of relative shearing potential of lower molars o f these taxa indicates that some were primarily insectivorous, some pr imarily frugivorous, and some may have been more mixed feeders. Anapto morphines did not develop the extremes of molar specialization for fru givory or insectivory seen in extant prosimians. Incisor enlargement d oes not appear to be associated with specialization in either fruits o r insects but may have been an adaptation for specialized grooming or food manipulation. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.