K. clarki was described in 2003 from isolated teeth and jaw fragments found in Late Middle
Eocene (c. 40 million years ago) sediments of the
Birket Qarun Formation in the Egyptian
Faiyum.[6][7] The specimens indicate the presence of a
toothcomb, making it the earliest fossil primate to indisputably bear this trait, which is unique to all living
strepsirrhines (
lemurs,
lorises, and
galagos).[7]
In 2010 a second species, K. arenula, was described in the journal Nature from Late Middle
Eocene rocks in
Libya.[3]
References
^"Karanisia". The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
^Seiffert, E. R. (2012). "Early primate evolution in Afro-Arabia". Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews. 21 (6): 239–253.
doi:
10.1002/evan.21335.
PMID23280921.
S2CID38884357.
^Gregg F. Gunnell; Doug M. Boyer; Anthony R. Friscia; Steven Heritage; Fredrick Kyalo Manthi; Ellen R. Miller; Hesham M. Sallam; Nancy B. Simmons; Nancy J. Stevens; Erik R. Seiffert (2018). "Fossil lemurs from Egypt and Kenya suggest an African origin for Madagascar's aye-aye". Nature Communications. 9: Article number 3193. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05648-w.