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Cantius frugivorus skull
Skull of Cantius frugivorus ( .)
Cantius frugivorus was a small adapiform primate that lived in the early Eocene in North America. Belonging to the family Nothactidae and a predecessor of Notharctus, Cantius was more advanced than the plesiadapiformes of the Paleocene period. The species was named by Cope (1875).
Cantius frugivorus had an average body mass of around 2.8 kilograms. The limb bones of C. frugivorus
suggest it moved by arboreal quadrupedalism and leaping. It had a
dental formula of 2:1:4:3 on both the upper and lower jaw. The incisors
are small and vertical, the canines are prominent, and the
mandibular symphysis is unfused.
Based on the dental morphology of Cantius frugivorus, it is thought to have had a frugivorous diet (and was so named), and was probably a diurnal species.
References:
Fleagle, J.G. 1999. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Academic Press: San Diego.
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