Boyer diss 2009 1046..

5321), some metapodials (MNHN R 5298, 5300, 5325, 5326, 5335-37, 5340, 5345, 5351,
5358, 5368, and 5370), some proximal phalanges (MNHN R 5301, 5328, 5329, 5342,
5355, 5365, and 5371), some intermediate phalanges (MNHN R 5312 and 5366), some
distal phalanges (MNHN R 5310, 5312, 5317, 5377, and 5381), and the distal epiphysis
of MT I (MNHN R 5306).
Beard’s work documented some important morphological patterns that enhance
the description and analysis of P. cookei. According to Beard, associations documented
for the elements of N. intermedius, by Dr. P. Houde, who originally discovered and
prepared the specimen, indicate that the pedal phalanges are longer and more robust than
the manual phalanges. This was later found to be true of micromomyid (Bloch and
Boyer, 2007) and paromomyid plesiadapifoms (Boyer and Bloch, 2008), although not for
carpolestid plesiadapiforms (Kirk et al., 2008). N. intermedius includes the first
described carpal bones for a plesiadapid, including the only described scaphoid for a
plesiadapiform. Its MT I, MC I, and “pollical” proximal phalanx were also the first
described. Furthermore, Beard’s comparisons of carpals between N. intermedius and P.
tricuspidens revealed that they are nearly identical in structure. The above information
has been used by Bloch and Boyer (2007) and Boyer and Bloch (2008) to help confirm
identity of elements in accumulations of semi-articulated to merely dentally-associated
plesiadapiform bones.
Beard’s (1989) comparative observations strongly emphasize similarities to the
extant dermopteran Cynocephalus. His structural and functional analyses demonstrated
that plesiadapiforms did indeed have a capacity for axial rotation of the forearm. This
information, plus the documentation of a robust, divergent pollex (e.g., p. 420, table 6; p.
269