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A variety of early hominin species shared the Afar region of Ethiopia
- On Jan. 21, researchers reported fragments of a Paranthropus lower jaw from Mille-Logya in the Afar, dated to about 2.6 million years and found over 1,000 kilometres farther north than previous finds.
- Previously, Paranthropus fossils were known from southern Ethiopia to southern Africa between 2.8 million and 1.4 million years ago, and the apparent absence in the Afar had puzzled paleoanthropologists.
- A local assistant brought the fragmentary lower jaw to Alemseged, the team assembled MLP-3000 fragments on site, and CT scans confirmed Paranthropus traits with a left lower molar crown found the same day.
- The Mille-Logya specimen adds a third genus to the Afar region assemblage between 2.8 million and 2.5 million years ago alongside Australopithecus and early Homo, while researchers say Paranthropus likely had a more flexible diet than the 'Nutcracker Man' nickname suggests.
- Unresolved questions include species ID and whether Paranthropus could have used simple stone tools, as Alemseged said, 'Discoveries like this really trigger interesting questions in terms of reviewing, revising, and then coming up with new hypotheses.
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Ethiopia: 2,6 Million-Year-Old Hominin Species Fossil Found in Ethiopia's Afar
Addis Ababa -- A research team led by Zeresenay Alemseged, a researcher at the University of Chicago in the United States, discovered 2.6 million-year-old hominin species fossil remains in Ethiopia's Afar region for the first time.
·South Africa
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The discovery of a jaw in the Afar region of Ethiopia expands the geographic distribution of Paranthropus by 1000 km and reveals that this genus was more widespread and had greater adaptive capacity than expected.
·Madrid, Spain
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Ape-like hominin Paranthropus was more adaptable than we thought
A fossil discovery in northern Ethiopia expands the known range of Paranthropus, a genus of strong-jawed hominins that lived around 2 million years ago, and suggests they lived in a range of habitats
·Baltimore, United States
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Total News Sources18
Leaning Left2Leaning Right1Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution63% Center
Bias Distribution
- 63% of the sources are Center
63% Center
L 25%
C 63%
12%
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