Platyrrhine Fossils First Appear in the South American Fossil Record

question 14

Essay

Platyrrhine fossils first appear in the South American fossil record during the late Oligocene epoch.Since they are not found in earlier fossil-bearing sediments, and South America at that time was essentially an island continent, how do scientists think they got there?

---

Definitions:

Caregiver's Facial Expressions

The nonverbal cues and emotions displayed by a person looking after another, significant for child development and emotional understanding.

Ambiguous Situations

Circumstances or scenarios that lack clear interpretation or can be understood in more than one way.

Social Referencing

The process by which individuals look to others in their environment for cues on how to react or behave in unfamiliar situations.

Infancy

The period of very early childhood, characterized by lack of complex speech; the first 2 years after birth.