(CNN) -- Scientists hailed Tuesday a 47-million-year-old fossil
of an ancient "small cat"-sized primate as a possible common
ancestor of monkeys, humans and other primates. The fossil is
believed to be an ancestor of monkeys, humans and other
primates. Scientists say the fossil, dubbed "Ida," is a
transitional species, living around the time the primate lineage
split into two groups: A line that would eventually produce
humans and monkeys, and another that would give rise to primates
such as lemurs. The fossil was formally named Darwinius
masillae, in honor of the anniversary of Charles Darwin's 200th
birthday. "This is the most complete primate fossil before human
burial," said Dr. Jorn Hurum, of the Natural History Museum at
the University of Oslo, who led the study of the fossil, a young
female primate. "And it's not a few million years old; it's 47
million years old," Hurum said, speaking at a news conference at
the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The fossil
was discovered in 1983 in the M