Ardip c 4.4 Ma herbivorous in swamps-woods :-)

From: Marc Verhaegen (fa204466_at_skynet.be)
Date: 01/19/05 

Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 23:32:38 +0100

Prehuman Remains Found in Ethiopia
Remains of Nine Prehumans From Hominid Species in Ethiopia Dated to 4.5
Million Years Old
Jan 19, 2005
Paleontologists working in Ethiopia have discovered the remains of at least
nine primitive human ancestors that are up to 4.5 million years old.
The specimens belong to a hominid species called Ardipithicus ramidus, a
transitional creature with significant ape characteristics. The fossils are
mostly teeth and jaw fragments, with some hands and feet bones, according to
nine researchers from universities in the United States and Spain.
The discoveries were made over a four-year span beginning in 1999 in digs at
the As Duma site in Ethiopia's Afar region, which has yielded many important
fossils. The details appear in the latest issue of the journal Nature.
Among the specimens, the recovered canine teeth are smaller and blunt,
similar to those of other human ancestors. But most of its teeth, including
molars, are like those of great apes. The size and wear of the teeth suggest
A. ramidus ate a plant-based diet, the researchers reported.
Geological and radiocarbon tests show the specimens are between 4.3 million
and 4.5 million years old.
Scientists know little about A. ramidus. A few skeletal fragments suggest it
was even smaller than Australopithecus afarensis, the 3.6 million-year-old
species widely known by the nearly complete "Lucy" fossil that measures
about four feet tall.
Evidence from other A. ramidus specimens shows its skull rested directly
atop its spinal column, rather than in front like apes. This suggests it
could walk upright, or had bipedal abilities.
Other fossils found at the As Duma site show that A. ramidus lived alongside
monkeys, mole rats and cow-like grazing animals. But details of the
environment are sketchy.
Originally, scientists theorized that the earliest human ancestors lived on
the savannah and began walking upright to see across the open landscape. But
pollen and other evidence from As Duma suggest the diverse habitat had
swamps, grass and even some woods.
The first A. ramidus fossils were reported in 1994. With the nine additional
specimens, labs now have fragments from as many as 60 individuals. Copyright
2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=425118

Relevant Pages