Tiny fossilized primate discovered in Thai coal mine

Ana Komnenic | October 2, 2013 | 9:24 pm Energy Asia Europe Coal

Reconstruction of Archicebus achilles – an ancient primate | Illustration by NI Xijun,Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Every once in a while, a mining operation will unearth something far more interesting than a black rock or a precious metal.

A Thai coal mine has uncovered a 35-million year-old half-pound primate – the first of its kind every discovered, LiveScience reports.

Palaeontologists have named the new species Krabia minuta, after the Krabi coal mine where it was found.

“It’s one of a very few number of fossils that have come from there, and we have reason to think that Southeast Asia was a real epicenter for primate evolution at that time,” a paleontologist not involved with the study told LiveScience.

Earlier this year mining giant BHP opened its doors to researchers looking gigantic fossilized animals at its South Walker Creek mine.