Reply to Sauther and Cuozzo 2012

Referring to long-term studies of living lemurs, Sauther and Cuozzo (2012) advanced doubts concerning our interpretation of a serious injury and its consequences for “Ida” (Darwinius masillae)—the famous fossil primate from the early middle Eocene of Grube Messel (Germany) (Franzen et al. 2011, 2012).We appreciate the intense efforts and the immense value of field studies for the interpretation of the palaeobiology of fossils, but we have objections concerning the comparisons and conclusions of Sauther and Cuozzo (2012).