Nyanzapithecus alesi

Nyanzapithecus alesi
Temporal occurrence
	Middle Miocene
	13 million years
Locations
	Napudet, Turkana Basin , Northern Kenya ;
Systematics
	Monkey (anthropoidea)
	Old World Monkey (Catarrhini)
	Human (Hominoidea)
	Oreopithecidae
	Nyanzapithecus
	Nyanzapithecus alesi
Scientific name
	Nyanzapithecus alesi
	Nengo et al., 2017

Nyanzapithecus alesi is an extinct species of primates in the genus Nyanzapithecus that was foundin East Africa during the Middle Miocene . The only fossil so fardiscoveredin Kenya that is ascribed to this species was dated around 13 million years ago. Using the daily growth lines of the teeth, it was reconstructed that it was a young animal that died at the age of 485 ± 40 days.

According to the first description, some characteristics of the fossil are similar to those of the gibbons living today , others are similar to the characteristics of the direct ancestors of today's great apes . Considering both groups of characteristics, the researchers suspect that the fossil is more likely to belong to the group of forms of the immediate great ape ancestors.

Naming

Nyanzapithecus is an artificial word . The name of the genus refers to the site in the Kenyan province of Nyanza . The second half of the generic name is derived from the Greek word πίθηκος ( pronounced píthēkos in ancient Greek : "monkey"). The epithet alesi comes from the Turkana language widespread in northern Kenya : ales = "ancestor", "ancestor". Nyanzapithecus therefore means "primordial monkey from Nyanza".

Initial description

The holotype of Nyanzapithecus alesi is the almost completely preserved, almost lemon-sized skull of a young animal with the archive number KNM-NP 59050 from the site of Napudet (2 ° 57 ′ N, 35 ° 52 ′ E) in the northern Kenyan Turkana Basin , west of the Turkana Lake discovered in 2014 by John Ekusi of the Turkana Basin Institute in 13 million year old rock layers. The skull is only slightly deformed, the associated lower jaw was not discovered. The crowns of all milk teeth have broken off, but their tooth roots have been preserved. The teeth of the permanent set had not yet erupted at the time of death. The structure of the inner ear and the organ of equilibrium could also be reconstructed from X-ray images , the shape of which was interpreted to mean that the animals of this species did not move acrobatically fast in the branches of the trees - like gibbons - but, like today's great apes, rather leisurely.

According to the first description, the find was assigned to a separate species in 2017 because the 1st molar in particular is significantly larger than in the other, older species of the genus Nyanzapithecus . Nevertheless, it was derived from the morphology (shape) of the skull that this species was roughly the size of Siamangs living today . According to the Max Planck Society , the skull shows "what the common ancestor of all apes and humans living today might have looked like."

According to the first description, the closer relationship of Nyanzapithecus alesi includes u. a. the species Rangwapithecus gordoni , Turkanapithecus kalakolensis , Oreopithecus bambolii and Rukwapithecus fleaglei .

In the first description of the genus this was placed in the family Oreopithecidae; other authors assign them to the family Proconsulidae.

Web links

Skull discovery closes gap in the family tree. Researchers discover a 13 million year old fossil of a primeval great ape. On scinexx.de from August 10, 2017 (with a picture of the skull)
Ancient infant ape skull sheds light on the ancestor of all humans and living apes. On: sciencemag.org from August 9, 2017 (English, with images)
Bay Area scientist Isaiah Nengo discovers ancient African skull. Information on the history of the find at: santacruzsentinel.com from August 11, 2017

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Isaiah Nengo et al .: New infant cranium from the African Miocene sheds light on ape evolution. In: Nature . Volume 548, 2017. pp. 169–174, doi: 10.1038 / nature23456
↑ New 13 million-year-old infant skull sheds light on ape ancestry. On: leakeyfoundation.org of September 8, 2017
↑ Monkey skull proves the origin of great apes and humans in Africa. On: mpg.de from August 9, 2017
↑ Terry Harrison : New Fossil Anthropoids From the Middle Miocene of East Africa and Their Bearing on the Origin of the Oreopithecidae. In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Volume 71, No. 3, 1986, pp. 265–284, doi: 10.1002 / ajpa.1330710303 , full text (PDF)
↑ Iyad S. Zalmout et al .: New Oligocene primates from Saudi Arabia and the divergence of apes and Old World monkeys. In: Nature . Volume 466, 2010, pp. 360-364, doi: 10.1038 / nature09094

[Nengo2017-1] Isaiah Nengo et al .: New infant cranium from the African Miocene sheds light on ape evolution. In: Nature . Volume 548, 2017. pp. 169–174, doi: 10.1038 / nature23456

[2] New 13 million-year-old infant skull sheds light on ape ancestry. On: leakeyfoundation.org of September 8, 2017

[3] Monkey skull proves the origin of great apes and humans in Africa. On: mpg.de from August 9, 2017

[4] Terry Harrison : New Fossil Anthropoids From the Middle Miocene of East Africa and Their Bearing on the Origin of the Oreopithecidae. In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Volume 71, No. 3, 1986, pp. 265–284, doi: 10.1002 / ajpa.1330710303 , full text (PDF)

[5] Iyad S. Zalmout et al .: New Oligocene primates from Saudi Arabia and the divergence of apes and Old World monkeys. In: Nature . Volume 466, 2010, pp. 360-364, doi: 10.1038 / nature09094