News Anthropology

A tiny skull fossil suggests primate brain areas evolved separately

Digital reconstruction hints that the organ’s development over time was complicated

Primate skull in hand

A palm-sized, 20-million-year-old fossil skull from an extinct monkey (Chilecebus carrascoensis) contains evidence that different parts of primate brains evolved independently of each other, scientists say.

© N. Wong and M. Ellison/AMNH

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

A 20-million-year-old monkey skull that fits in the palm of an adult’s hand may contain remnants of piecemeal brain evolution in ancient primates.