Homunculus (Miocene, Patagonia) enters the LRT
According to Wikipedia – Homunculus (genus):
“Homunculus is an extinct genus of New World monkey that lived in Patagonia during the Miocene. it is the southernmost non-human primate ever recorded.”
“Some studies have regarded Homunculus as a crown group platyrrhine and a member of the family Pitheciidae, possibly belonging to a tribe of its own (Homuncilini), while other studies have regarded it as a stem-group platyrrhine outside any modern group. The latter is supported by the morphology of its nasal turbinates, which are dissimilar to those of crown-group platyrrhines.”
Figure 1. Homunculus skull in three views. Data from Perry et al 2025. DGS colors added here.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/homunculus-skull588-1.jpg?w=247″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/homunculus-skull588-1.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-94242″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/homunculus-skull588-1.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. Homunculus skull in three views. Data from Perry et al 2025. DGS colors added here.” width=”584″ height=”710″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/homunculus-skull588-1.jpg?w=584&h=710 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/homunculus-skull588-1.jpg?w=123&h=150 123w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/homunculus-skull588-1.jpg?w=247&h=300 247w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/homunculus-skull588-1.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 1. Homunculus skull in three views. Data from Perry et al 2025. DGS colors added here.
When added to
the large reptile tree (LRT, 2338 taxa) Homunculus (Figs 1, 2) nested with Smilodectes (Texas, Middle Eocene, Fig 2) and Rooneyia (Texas, Late Eocene, Fig 2), basal to Alouatta (extant, South America. Fig 2) and other South American = New World monkeys.
Figure 2. Homunculus relatives in the LRT to scale. DGS colors added here.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/smilodectes_homunculus588-1.jpg?w=148″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/smilodectes_homunculus588-1.jpg?w=504″ class=”size-full wp-image-94243″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/smilodectes_homunculus588-1.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Homunculus relatives in the LRT to scale. DGS colors added here.” width=”584″ height=”1186″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/smilodectes_homunculus588-1.jpg?w=584&h=1186 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/smilodectes_homunculus588-1.jpg?w=74&h=150 74w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/smilodectes_homunculus588-1.jpg?w=148&h=300 148w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/smilodectes_homunculus588-1.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 2. Homunculus relatives in the LRT to scale. DGS colors added here.
Taxon exclusion issues appear in Perry et al 2025.
Smilodectes and Rooneyia were omitted from their analysis.
According to the LRT
South America was populated with monkeys that evolved from more primitive North American taxa (Fig 2), not from rafting across the Atlantic from Africa.
Perry et al concluded,
“Homunculus patagonicus was an herbivorous, diurnal, generalized quadruped. It fed on tough, possibly gritty foods, ingested at somewhat large volumes. It spent time climbing vertical tree trunks and crossing large gaps in the canopy by bridging, leaping, and probably sometimes descending to the forest floor. It lived prior to a time of cooling and
aridification that ultimately led, in all probability, to the extinction of its descendants. Homunculus was one of a handful of early platyrrhines that radiated in the early Miocene and dispersed to high latitudes, all of which became extinct as temperatures and rainfall dropped.”
References
Ameghino F 1894. Énumération synoptique des espèces de mammifères fossiles des formations éocènes de Patagonie. Buenos Aires: Imp. de P.E. Coni é hijos.
Perry JMG et al (7 co-authors) 2025. New skeleton and associated skull of Homunculus patagonicus Ameghino, 1891 (Primates, Platyrrhini), from the Miocene of Patagonia (Argentina). Palaeontologia Electronica. 28 (2): 1–38. doi:10.26879/21
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2025/08/22/homunculus-miocene-patagonia-enters-the-lrt/
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