prosimian

American  

[proh-sim-ee-uhn] / proʊˈsɪm i ən /

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the formerly designated suborder Prosimii, the group of primates that excludes the simians, therefore including all living and extinct strepsirrhines and tarsiers.

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noun

1. a prosimian animal.

prosimian British  

/ prəʊˈsɪmɪən /

noun

1. any primate of the primitive suborder Prosimii, including lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Prosimii

prosimian Scientific  

/ prō-sĭm′ē-ən /

1. Any of various primates of the suborder Strepsirrhini (formerly Prosimii), considered the most primitive primates. Prosimians have a moist, bare muzzle and a retina that lacks a fovea but is backed by a reflective layer that increases night vision. Unlike other primates, female prosimians do not menstruate because the lining of their uteri is not built up each month to prepare for possible pregnancy. Prosimians are mostly small in size, and include the lemurs, aye-ayes, indris, and lorises. The tarsiers were once classified as prosimians but are now considered more closely related to the monkeys and apes.

2. Compare simian

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Etymology

Origin of prosimian

First recorded in 1860–65; from New Latin Prosīmi(ī) name of the suborder + suffix -an; pro- ¹, simian, -an )

Example Sentences

The museum collected 25,000 pounds from one place in the 1990s, looking for prosimian primates, which it found.

From Washington Post • Mar. 10, 2017

By the end of the Eocene Epoch, many of the early prosimian species went extinct due either to cooler temperatures or competition from the first monkeys.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

"The fossils were either true anthropoid or true prosimian; we've never found anything in between until now."

From Time Magazine Archive