Question:

How is primate evolution reconciled with continental drift?

by Guest32763  |  earlier

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I'm stumped on this one... how is it that the South American and African continents fully divided approximately 130,000,000 years ago and the first primates didn't appear for another 70,000,000 years, but there are primates on both the South American and African continents?

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  1. The last two answers are probably correct.  You have to realize that the separation between the continents was much less 25 to 30 million years ago so travelling on mats that got washed out to sea on floods is much more plausible at that time.   I don't think monkeys likely travelled across the Bering Straits.  It didn't exist at that time.  Also primates typically do not do well in colder northern niches.


  2. They swam, seriously.  I idea is that monkeys originated in Africa then for some reason a group was washed away, got caught in the currents and ended up in the Americas.  They may have floated on trees and whatnot that was washed away with them.  Someone tested this theory and found that it was possible based on current movement and no technology.

  3. what are you talking about answerers?  Hes talking about monkeys.  In fact, New World monkeys (Platyrrhini) are very different from Apes or Old Wolrd Monkeys (Catarrhini).  Prehensile tales are limited to NW monks and they actually differentiated on facial (nose structure) from OW monks and apes (these last 2 groups are technically different by dentition (teeth).  How do land animals get to islands?  Drifting vegetation  is one possibility.  So's Jesus

  4. Migration.  This one isn't too difficult.  It could have been the Bering Straits, but, frankly, maritime technology could also have served.

  5. The Bering Straits were covered with ice not that long ago (and at other times in the past too).  And in 30 million years, there was ample time for people to walk from northeast Asia to Northwest North America and down to South America.

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