Gorilla-like anatomy on Australopithecus afarensis mandibles suggests Au. afarensis link to robust australopiths
- From: Marc Verhaegen <m_verhaegen@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:25:13 +0200
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0606454104
Gorilla-like anatomy on Australopithecus afarensis mandibles suggests Au.
afarensis link to robust australopiths
Yoel Rak, Avishag Ginzburg & Eli Geffen 2007
Mandibular ramus morphology on a recently discovered specimen of
Australopithecus afarensis closely matches that of gorillas. This finding
was unexpected given that chimpanzees are the closest living relatives of
humans. Because modern humans, chimpanzees, orangutans, and many other
primates share a ramal morphology that differs from that of gorillas, the
gorilla anatomy must represent a unique condition, and its appearance in
fossil hominins must represent an independently derived morphology. This
particular morphology appears also in Australopithecus robustus. The
presence of the morphology in both the latter and Au. afarensis and its
absence in modern humans cast doubt on the role of Au. afarensis as a modern
human ancestor. The ramal anatomy of the earlier Ardipithecus ramidus is
virtually that of a chimpanzee, corroborating the proposed phylogenetic
scenario.
_____
Unexpected?
:-)
http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~mvaneech/Fil/Verhaegen_Human_Evolution.html
1994
"Australopithecines: ancestors of the African apes?"
Human Evolution 9:121-139
--Marc Verhaegen
.
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