New species from Ethiopia further expands Middle Pliocene hominin diversity.
Nature
; 521(7553): 483-8, 2015 May 28.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26017448
ABSTRACT
Middle Pliocene hominin species diversity has been a subject of debate over the past two decades, particularly after the naming of Australopithecus bahrelghazali and Kenyanthropus platyops in addition to the well-known species Australopithecus afarensis. Further analyses continue to support the proposal that several hominin species co-existed during this time period. Here we recognize a new hominin species (Australopithecus deyiremeda sp. nov.) from 3.3-3.5-million-year-old deposits in the Woranso-Mille study area, central Afar, Ethiopia. The new species from Woranso-Mille shows that there were at least two contemporaneous hominin species living in the Afar region of Ethiopia between 3.3 and 3.5 million years ago, and further confirms early hominin taxonomic diversity in eastern Africa during the Middle Pliocene epoch. The morphology of Au. deyiremeda also reinforces concerns related to dentognathic (that is, jaws and teeth) homoplasy in Plio-Pleistocene hominins, and shows that some dentognathic features traditionally associated with Paranthropus and Homo appeared in the fossil record earlier than previously thought.
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Hominidae
/
Biodiversidad
/
Fósiles
Límite:
Animals
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nature
Año:
2015
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos