Overview
- The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology reports Purgatorius teeth from Corral Bluffs in Colorado’s Denver Basin, the southernmost record of the earliest archaic primate (DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2026.2614024).
- Researchers used intensive screen-washing and fine sieving, with months of sorting by students and volunteers, to recover tiny teeth that traditional surface collecting would likely miss.
- The specimens show a unique combination of dental features, and scientists are seeking additional fossils to determine whether they represent a distinct or earlier species.
- The find indicates that prior gaps in the southern record reflect sampling bias rather than true absence of early primate relatives.
- Lead author Stephen Chester says the Colorado fossils support a north-to-south expansion soon after the end-Cretaceous event, consistent with evidence that Purgatorius was arboreal.