A paleontologist at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History has unearthed the oldest primate fossils ever discovered in North America or Europe.

The 55.8 million-year-old fossils, excavated at a site near Meridian, Miss., are from a previously unknown species of extinct primate, which has been named Teilhardina magnoliana. The species name acknowledges the geographic origin of the fossils, since Mississippi is nicknamed the "Magnolia State."

Chris Beard, the researcher behind the discovery, is author of a paper to appear tomorrow in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." The study sheds light on how the earliest primates migrated to North America during a major global warming event 55.8 million years ago. This ancient episode of global warming was comparable in terms of rate and magnitude to the current phase of global warming, but due to a different cause.

Dr. Beard said his research shows that the Teilhardina magnoliana migrated from Asia to North America over the Bering land bridge that connected Siberia with Alaska. Closely related species found at sites in China, Belgium, France and Wyoming once inhabited Asia, North America and Europe at roughly the same time.

But the fossils found in Mississippi have proven to be older than those found in Europe.

Dr. Beard suggests that the falling sea level caused by continental drift allowed the Teilhardina to migrate from North America to Europe over a land bridge connecting Greenland and Scotland, rather than vice versa.

The Teilhardina was a tiny primate weighing about 28 grams or roughly an ounce. The small primate lived in trees. The acrobatic leaper and proficient climber probably ate insects, fruits, sap and gum.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.