Two New Extinct Primate Species Found in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, June 4/2020( ENA)Two new extinct primate species dated between 4.8 and 4.3 million years ago were found in the Site of Gona in Ethiopia's Afar Region.

The two different new primate species known only from Gona and the Middle Awash study were found in Ethiopia, according to a report from Science X.

Gona is one of the two palaeo-anthropological sites in Africa where the hominin species known as Ardi-pithecus ramidus has been discovered.

The fossil discoveries include upper jaws, mandibles and postcrania found from deposits that also yielded Ardi-pithecus ramidus, a hominin species first identified in the Middle Awash study area located to the south of Gona.

Based on abundance of various animal species, including monkeys, the ancient environment in which Ardi-pithecus ramidus lived was argued to be in a closed habitat with forests.

Remarkably, differences in relative abundance of these fossil monkeys showed that at Gona Ardipithecus ramidus lived in open wooded habitats, which is different from the closed forested habitat documented in the Middle Awash.

“Therefore, our study shows environmental differences in the areas inhabited by Aridi-pithecus ramidus, one of the earliest hominins that lived at Gona and in the Middle Awash 4.5 million years ago,” said Sileshi Semaw from CENIEH.

Ardi-pithecus ramidus is among the earliest bipedal hominin species walking on two feet that lived in East Africa.