Fossil of Great Ape Ancestor Found
Posted on: Thursday, 18 November 2004, 15:00 CST
A new fossil found in Spain may be the closest yet to the common ancestor of all great apes, perhaps including humans, researchers say.
A Spanish paleontology team describes its fossil find in next Monday's issue of the journal Science, published by AAAS, the nonprofit science society.
Like other great apes, the species, known as Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, had a stiff lower spine and other special adaptations for climbing.
These features, plus the fossil's age of about 13 million years, suggest that this species was probably close to the last great ape ancestor, according to Salvador Moy&160; of the Miguel Crusafont Institute of Paleontology and his colleagues.
Scientists classify orangutans, chimpanzees and gorillas as well as humans in their studies of great apes, which are thought to have diverged from the lesser apes about 11 to 16 million years ago.
Source: United Press International
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