My article is about primate fossils found in a coal mine in India. Scientists think they are close relatives of our ancestors. Primates are a group of mammals that include humans, monkeys, apes, & other related animals. Scientists thought that primates evolved mainly on the continent of Africa. The new study shows that primates may have also evolved in India. in 2010, some colleagues reported a 65 million-year old fossil found in southern India. They think the fossil might belong to a distant ancestor of primates. The latest of these finds was found in a mine in Gujarat, a state in western India. A biologist and her colleagues found a set of 25 arm, leg, ankle, & foot fossils. They were all 54.5 million years old. The animal fossils resemble the primates, which lived 65 million years ago. Earlier, researchers digging in the same area, called the Vastan Mine, found jaws, teeth, and limb bones from 4 ancient primate species. The scientists think the Vastan primates are more closely related to a primate ancestor more than any other fossils previously found. The Vastan primates were about the size of a gray mouse lemur. The scientists estimate that the Vastan primates weighed about 300 grams. The Vastan primates couldn’t climb as well as animals that primates evolved from. For example, they couldn’t climb as well as the group that includes monkeys, apes, and tarsiers. This group is called omomyids. The other group is called adapoids. These include relatives of lemurs, lorises, & bush babies. The Vastan primates also lived in the trees, but didn’t have the climbing abilities that the modern primates have. The researchers think the Vastan primates evolved from an animal that omomyids and  adapoids evolved from. When the Vastan primates were alive, India was a floating landmass. It was heading towards Asia. The scientists think that being so distinct, because they were the only kinds of primate on the landmass, made them evolve slower. Once India and Asia collided, their primates spread around the world.