Monkeys Crossed From South America To North America 21 Million Years Ago; Fossils Found In Panama Canal

Seven fossil teeth of monkey were found in the excavation area in the Panama Canal expansion project. This showed that monkeys had crossed the North American continent from South America 21 million years ago. The study was issued in the journal Nature.

The fossil teeth belonged to a South American Monkey, according to Reuters. The teeth consist of molars that are about one-fifth of an inch long. The voyage of the said monkeys is a bit mysterious.

Jonathan Bloch, a vertebrate paleontology curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History said that Panama at that time represents the southern extreme of the North American continent. He said the monkeys might have swum across. On the other hand, the feat surely was difficult as it required covering a distance of over than 100 miles. Bloch further said that they might unintentionally raft across on mats of vegetation.

The monkey is named Panamacebus transitus, according to Science Daily. Bloch said that Panamacebus is associated to capuchin, which is known as "organ-grinder" monkey and squirrel monkey that is found in South and Central America nowadays. He said that prior to this discovery, New World monkeys were thought to have evolved in isolation on South America, cut-off from North America by a wide seaway.

Bloch said learning that monkeys lived in North America at that time is a mind-bending discovery. This is because monkeys did not exist in North America before. It is like perceiving that Australian koalas and kangaroos live in Asia today.

Monkeys are "dry-nosed" primates, consisting of nearly 260 known living species. They are of two types, namely, the Old World monkeys and the New World monkeys. The Old World monkeys originated in Asia and Africa and the New World monkeys are from Central and South America. Monkeys are intelligent, particularly the Old World monkeys.