Scientists Discover New Human Species In Ethiopia

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The human family tree is far more complicated than we ever thought. Now an international team of scientists has discovered a new human ancestor species in the Afar region of Ethiopia. Named Australopithecus deyiremeda, this species roamed the Afar region between 3.3 million and 3.5 million years ago. Findings of the study were published in the latest issue of the Nature journal.

Ethiopia discovery proof that Lucy was not alone

The discovery suggests that the Lucy’s species Australopithecus afarensis, which lived between 2.9 million and 3.8 million years ago in the same region, was not alone. The new study led by Dr Yohannes Haile-Selassie of the Cleveland Museum presents the most conclusive evidence that more than one human species lived in the same period.

The new species’ name deyiremeda means “close relative” in the language spoken by the Afar people. Researchers recovered its jawbones and teeth from Ethiopia. Dr Yohannes Haile-Selassie said the fossils belonged to four individuals, who had both human and ape-like features. It differed from Lucy species in size and shape of its thick-enameled teeth.

The new species’ lower jaw architecture was quite different from that of Lucy. Its relatively smaller anterior teeth suggest that it had a different diet than Lucy. Haile-Selassie said this new species from Ethiopia takes the debate on early hominin diversity to a whole new level. It lends support to the idea that multiple hominins co-existed during the middle Pliocene.

Several hominins co-existed during the middle Pliocene

For decades, the scientific community has argued that there was only one human species between 3-4 million years ago, which gave rise to another new species over time. That’s what fossil records suggested until a few years ago. The view started changing only after the discovery of Kenyanthropus platyops in Kenya and Australopithecus bahrelghazali in Chad. Both of them were from the same period as Lucy species.

However, some scientists still questioned the validity of these species, and were skeptical about the idea that several species were present during the middle Pliocene. Haile-Selassie cleared that skepticism when he discovered the partial foot of 3.4 million years old Burtele hominin.

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