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Elwyn L Simons, James B Duke Professor Emeritus and Scientific Director, Duke University Primate Center

Research Interests:
Anthropoid origins and evolution

Areas of Interest:
Paleontology
Primate Evolution
Anthropoid Evolution
Primate Ecology/Conservation

I am interested in the biology and behavior of living and fossil primates, the diversification of archaic mammals, the origin and radiation of both anthropoideans and Hominidae, and in primate conservation and behavior. My publications have contributed to the understanding of primate history, dating and paleo-environmental context, particularly of Eocene primates of Europe and North America and of the wide variety of Eocene/ Oligocene primates from Egypt that include the earliest well-known higher primates. These contributions deal particularly with the timing and nature of anthropoid origins and diversification. Over the years I have published extensively about the Old World radiation of Miocene-Pliocene apes and its relationship to origin of Hominidae. Several symposia on hominid evolution were organized by me, and I have held a life-long interest in both researching and teaching about various aspects of hominid evolution. I have contributed much to details of primate classification and have described many genera and species. I have also carried out projects dealing with the description, classification, behavior, reproduction, and captive conservation of living prosimians and the anatomy, dating, environments, and causes of extinction of the extinct giant lemurs of Madagascar. I am interested in the conservation of living primates.

Current Projects: Fayum paleoanthropology

Research Summary:
Dr. Elwyn L. Simons is primarily interested in the history, general biology, and behavior of living and extinct primates. His primary research concerns focus on the early evolution of anthropoids in the late Eocene and early Oligocene of the Fayum Depression, Egypt; the paleoecology, dating, taphonomy, anatomy, and relationships of extinct placentals from these sites; dating, extinctions, anatomy, and relationships of giant subfossil lemurs of Madagascar; behavioral and conservation studies of extant Malagasy lemurs; the evolutionary history and relationships of middle and late Tertiary apes, as well as Plio-Pleistocene hominids. Dr. Simons has led over 70 field expeditions to Egypt, Madagascar, India, Iran, Nepal, and Wyoming.

He has held professional appointments at Yale University (1960-1977), Duke University (1977- present), and was the Director of the Duke Primate Center (1977-1991) and Scientific Director (1991- 2001). He has authored nearly 300 scientific publications and is the holder of many high honors. Dr. Simons is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, as well as many other professional associations. He was elected a “Knight of the National Order” by the government of Madagascar and has been the recipient of many awards including the prestigious Charles R. Darwin Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists.

Representative Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

1. Seiffert ER, Simons EL, Attia Y. "Fossil evidence for an ancient divergence of lorises and galagos." Nature 422 (2003): 421-424.
2. Simons EL. "The cranium of Parapithecus grangeri, an Egyptian Oligocene anthropoidean primate." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 98 (2001): 7892-7897.
3. Simons EL, Seiffert ER, Chatrath PS, and Attia Y. "Earliest record of a parapithecid anthropoid from the Jebel Qatrani Formation, northern Egypt." Folia Primatologica 72 (2002): 316-331.
4. Seiffert ER, and Simons EL. "Astragalar morphology of Late Eocene anthropoids from the Fayum Depression (Egypt) and the origin of catarrhine primates." Journal of Human Evolution 41 (2001): 577-605.
5. Seiffert ER, Simons EL, and Fleagle JG. "Anthropoid humeri from the late Eocene of Egypt." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97 (2000): 10062-10067.
6. Simons EL, and Seiffert ER. "A partial skeleton of Proteopithecus sylviae (Primates, Anthropoidea): first associated dental and postcranial remains of an Eocene anthropoidean." Comptes Rendus De L'Academie Des Sciences Serie II Fascicule a- Sciences De La Terre Et Des Planetes 329 (1999): 921-927.
7. Simons EL, Plavcan JM, and Fleagle JG. "Canine sexual dimorphism in Egyptian Eocene anthropoid primates: Catopithecus and Proteopithecus." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 96 (1999): 2559-2562.
8. Simons EL. "The prosimian fauna of the fayum Eocene/Oligocene deposits of Egypt." Folia Primatologica 69 (1998): 286-294.
9. Simons EL. "Preliminary description of the cranium of Proteopithecus sylviae, an Egyptian late Eocene anthropoidean primate." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 94 (1997): 14970-14975.
10. Simons EL, and Rasmussen DT. "Skull of Catopithecus browni, an early tertiary catarrhine." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 100 (1996): 261-292.
11. Wunderlich RE, Simons EL, and Jungers WL. "New pedal remains of Megaladapis and their functional significance." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 100 (1996): 115-138.

Education:

• PhD, Princeton University, 1956
• D.Sc., University College, Oxford, 1995
• M.A. (Hon.), Yale University, 1967
• D. Phil, University College, Oxford, 1959
• M.A., Princeton University, 1955
• B.S., W.M. Rice University, 1953

Contact Info: 

1013 Broad Street | +1 919 416 8420 x 27, +1 919 416 8433 | esimons@duke.edu | http://www.fossils.duke.edu

Curriculum Vitae