A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa

Michel Brunet; Franck Guy; David Pilbeam; Hassane Taïsso Mackaye; Andossa Likius; Djimdoumalbaye Ahounta; Alain Beauvilain; Cécile Blondel; Hervé Bocherens; Jean-Renaud Boisserie; Louis de Bonis; Yves Coppens; Jean Dejax; Christiane C. Denys; Philippe Duringer; Vera Eisenmann; Gongdibé Fanone; Pierre Fronty; Denis Geraads; Thomas Lehmann; Fabrice Lihoreau; Antoine Louchart; Adoum Mahamat; Gildas Merceron; Guy Mouchelin; Olga Otero; Pablo Pelaez Campomanes; Marcia Ponce de Leon; Jean-Claude Rage; Michel Sapanet; Mathieu Schuster; Jean Sudre; Pascal Tassy; Xavier Valentin; Patrick Vignaud; Laurent Viriot; Antoine Zazzo; Christoph P.E. Zollikofer

doi:10.1038/nature00879

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A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa

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A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa

Michel Brunet, Franck Guy, David Pilbeam, Hassane Taïsso Mackaye, Andossa Likius, Djimdoumalbaye Ahounta, Alain Beauvilain, Cécile Blondel, Hervé Bocherens, Jean-Renaud Boisserie, …

Nature, Vol.418(6894), pp.145-151

07/2002

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature00879

Abstract

australopithecus-afarensis

lukeino

hadar

skull

The search for the earliest fossil evidence of the human lineage has been concentrated in East Africa. Here we report the discovery of six hominid specimens from Chad, central Africa, 2,500 km from the East African Rift Valley. The fossils include a nearly complete cranium and fragmentary lower jaws. The associated fauna suggest the fossils are between 6 and 7 million years old. The fossils display a unique mosaic of primitive and derived characters, and constitute a new genus and species of hominid. The distance from the Rift Valley, and the great antiquity of the fossils, suggest that the earliest members of the hominid clade were more widely distributed than has been thought, and that the divergence between the human and chimpanzee lineages was earlier than indicated by most molecular studies.

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Title: A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa
Creators - without role: Michel Brunet - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Franck Guy - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
David Pilbeam - Faculty of 1000
Hassane Taïsso Mackaye - University of N'Djamena
Andossa Likius - University of N'Djamena
Djimdoumalbaye Ahounta - Centre National d'Appui à la Recherche
Alain Beauvilain - University of N'Djamena
Cécile Blondel - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Hervé Bocherens - University of Tübingen
Jean-Renaud Boisserie - Institut International de Paléoprimatologie, Paléontologie Humaine : Évolution et Paléoenvironnement
Louis de Bonis - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Yves Coppens - Collège de France
Jean Dejax - Centre de recherche en paléontologie - Paris
Christiane C. Denys - Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité
Philippe Duringer - Institut de physique du globe de Paris
Vera Eisenmann - Paléobiodiversité et paléoenvironnements
Gongdibé Fanone - University of N'Djamena
Pierre Fronty - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Denis Geraads - Dynamique de l'évolution humaine : individus, populations, espèces [Paris]
Thomas Lehmann - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Fabrice Lihoreau - Université de Montpellier, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution - Montpellier - ISEM
Antoine Louchart - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
Adoum Mahamat - University of N'Djamena
Gildas Merceron - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Guy Mouchelin - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Olga Otero - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Pablo Pelaez Campomanes - Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales
Marcia Ponce de Leon - Anthropologisches Institut
Jean-Claude Rage - Paléobiodiversité : histoire et dynamique
Michel Sapanet - Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Poitiers
Mathieu Schuster - Institut de physique du globe de Paris
Jean Sudre - Université de Montpellier, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution - Montpellier - ISEM
Pascal Tassy - Centre de recherche en paléontologie - Paris
Xavier Valentin - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Patrick Vignaud - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Laurent Viriot - Institute of Paleoprimatology Human Paleontology Evolution and Paleoenvironments
Antoine Zazzo - Archéozoologie et Archéobotanique
Christoph P.E. Zollikofer - Swiss National Museum
Publication Details: Nature, Vol.418(6894), pp.145-151
Identifiers: 9933986109311
Academic Unit: Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution - Montpellier - ISEM
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
Local Fields: hal-02910123