Mama, Is That You? Possible Ape Ancestor Found

Nov. 12, 2007 -- A toothy, nut-chomping large ape from Kenya may represent a new species that was, or was very close to being, the last common ancestor to gorillas, chimpanzees and humans, according to a new study that outlines the recently discovered, 10 million-year-old species.

Called Nakalipithecus nakayamai, the ape lived within a critical window of evolutionary time.

Lead author Yutaka Kunimatsu explained to Discovery News that molecular studies of living apes indicate gorillas, chimps and humans diverged from each other in Africa during the Late Miocene 11-5 million years ago.

"Nakalipithecus is derived from Africa and from an appropriate age," Kunimatsu, a Kyoto University primate researcher, said.

Fossil remains of the species, excavated by the researchers in the Samburu Hills of northern Kenya, include a jawbone and 11 telltale teeth.

"Based on the dentition, (the ape) was approximately the size of female gorillas to orangutans and it had thick enamel and low, voluminous cusps on its cheek teeth," Kunimatsu explained, "so it is likely that this ape ate a considerable amount of hard objects, possibly nuts or seeds."

Other studies suggest the landscape of northern Kenya at the time would have consisted of woodlands with some open patches.

The findings were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

An odd twist to the find is that the new ape most closely resembles another related species, Ouranopithecus macedoniensis , from Greece. Some researchers had even thought the Greek ape was the last common ancestor, or at least close to it.