Siamopithecus eocaenus, a late Eocene anthropoid primate from Thailand: its contribution to the evolution of anthropoids in Southeast Asia

Dental remains of a late Eocene anthropoid primate from Thailand, Siamopith ecus eocaenus, nave been recently reported; complete description and compar isons of this material are given here. Siamopithecus displays several deriv ed dental features that suggest close phylogenetic affinities among the Tha i species, the Burmese Pondaungia, and the North African and Omani propliop ithecines Aegyptopithecus and Moeripithecus. The geographic origin of anthr opoid primates cannot be securely determined at present, but the available fossil record indicates that faunal exchanges between Africa and Southeast Asia were very probable during the Eocene, and that direct relationships be tween Asian and African anthropoid primates can be inferred. (C) 1999 Acade mic Press.