New primates from the Eocene of Saskatchewan, Canada: Revision of the primates from the Cypress Hills Formation with description of new taxa

Abstract

True primates in the Canadian fossil record are known from only the Eocene epoch of southwestern Saskatchewan. They were originally described in the 1980s from two sets of localities: the Lac Pelletier localities (Duchesnean) and the Swift Current Creek (SCC) locality (Uintan). Additional fieldwork and sample sorting were carried out over the last decade. The present study includes a description of new primate dental material from the Swift Current Creek (SCC) locality. We name a new genus and two new species and revise the known primates for both the Lac Pelletier and SCC faunas. The Cypress Hills region of Saskatchewan likely represented a haven for small primates in the Eocene and may have supported an endemic primate fauna.