Afradapis fossil map
Where fossils of Afradapis have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 30 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 30 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 37.71–33.9 million years ago (Priabonian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Named by | Seiffert et al. 2009 |
| Fossil records | 2 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Egypt |
| Rock formations | Birket Qarun |
About Afradapis
Afradapis is a genus of adapiform primate that lived during the Late Eocene. The only known species, Afradapis longicristatus, was discovered in the Birket Qarun Formation in northern Egypt in 2009. While its geographic distribution is confined to Afro-Arabia, Afradapis belongs to the predominantly European adapiform family Caenopithecinae. This taxonomic placement is supported by recent phylogenetic analyses that recover a close evolutionary relationship between Afradapis and adapiforms, including Darwinius. While adapiforms have been noted for their strepsirrhine-like morphology, no adapiform fossil possesses the unique anatomical traits (i.e., synapomorphies) to establish an ancestor-descent relationship between caenopithecids and living strepsirrhines (i.e., lemurs, lorises, and galagos). It ate leaves and moved around slowly like lorises.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Afradapis (revision 1373652695), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q292846.
