Godinotia is an extinct genus of strepsirrhine (wet-nosed primate) from the Eocene of Germany. It belongs to the order Adapiformes, a widespread early primate group distantly related to modern lemurs. Godinotia fossils are found in Middle Eocene strata of Geiseltal.
Description
Like Darwinius, Godinotia has a vestigial second premolar with a single root, rather than a double root like Europolemur. A supposed Godinotia fossil from the Messel Pit preserves fruit seeds and leaf fragments as gut content, though this fossil was later recognized as Darwinius.
The hindlimbs are significantly longer than the forelimbs, but the sacrum is unfused. As a result, Godinotia was not highly adapted for either active leaping (like some lemurs) or a slow high-grip crawl (like lorises). Instead, it probably had an intermediate approach to climbing, by grasping thin branches and vertical surfaces through all four limbs. Godinotia is estimated to have weighed around , similar in size to the Eastern lesser bamboo lemur.
In 2000, Jens Lorenz Franzen gave "Pronycticebus" neglectus a new genus and species combination: Godinotia neglecta. Franzen named Godinotia after French primate researcher Marc Godinot. Marc Godinot was also the namesake of Marcgodinotius, an adapiform described from Eocene India in 2005.
Confusion with Darwinius
thumb|The holotype of [[Darwinius: the complete part slab ("Ida") in Norway (left), and the partially-forged counterpart slab in Wyoming (right), previously considered a Godinotia fossil.]]
One purported Godinotia fossil was later recognized as a fossil of Darwinius masillae, an adapiform from the Messel Pit which was formally described in 2009.