Ancient monkey fossil found by divers

 Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10715787

In an underwater cave in the Dominican Republic the fossilised remains of a extinct monkey was found by a team of scuba divers. The fossil is believed to be around 3,000.

"When they discovered it, they were fearful the bones were exposed, so they moved the material to a little nook to protect it."Having sought official permission to remove the fossil from the cave, Dr Rosenberger returned to with the scuba divers to retrieve it in October of last year.
The divers packed the skeleton into tupperware boxes in order to bring it safely to the surface.
'Stout little monkey' Dr Rosenberger said the monkey - only the second specimen of the species Antillothrix bernensis ever found - probably measured about 30cm (12in) from head to toe.

 

"That's an exciting part of the story - if you compare the dental remains of our monkey to other fossils that we know of, we see strong similarities with Patagonian fossils that are around 15 million years old."

"With this improved knowledge of a recently extinct species, it might be possible to understand what caused it to disappear from Hispaniola."

Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10715787