Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




ABOUT US
African fossil reveals clues to evolution of ape-human lineage
by Staff Writers
Kingston, R.I. (UPI) Feb 18, 2013


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Scientists say evidence of an African environment inhabited by an ancient ape species provides insights into the early diversification of the ape-human lineage.

Knowledge of the environment inhabited by the early ape Proconsul can help in understanding and interpreting the connection between habitat preferences and that diversification, they said.

Proconsul and a primate relative, Dendropithecus, inhabited "a widespread, dense, multistoried, closed canopy" forest on Rusinga Island in Kenya, the researchers report in the journal Nature Communications.

A fossil of a single individual of Proconsul, which lived 18 to 20 million years ago, was found among geological deposits that also contained tree stump casts, calcified roots and fossil leaves, they said.

The discovery underscores the importance of forested environments in the evolution of early apes, anthropologist Holly Dunsworth of the University of Rhode Island said.

"To have the vegetation of a habitat preserved right along with the fossil primates themselves isn't a regular occurrence in primate paleontology," she said. "It's especially rare to have so many exquisite plant fossils preserved at ancient ape sites.

"It's probably the best evidence linking ape to habitat that we could ask for."

Proconsul probably had a body position somewhat similar to modern monkeys but details of its anatomy suggest some more ape-like climbing and clambering abilities, the researchers said.

Work at the Kenyan site is ongoing, Dunsworth said.

"We don't know exactly what we're going to find, but without a doubt, if we keep searching, we're going to find knowledge about early ape evolution, which was, of course, a significant chapter in our own history," she said.

.


Related Links
All About Human Beings and How We Got To Be Here






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





ABOUT US
For new study, 100 people commit their bodies to science
Chicago (AFP) Feb 15, 2014
One hundred people are about to share their live bodies for science as part of an unprecedented new study that will examine how to improve personal health, researchers said Friday. The Hundred Person Wellness Project, which begins next month, will require round-the-clock monitoring of its subjects, who are presumed healthy at the time of enrollment. Scientists will start by sequencing th ... read more


ABOUT US
British princes help out as storm claims two lives

Philippines vows to build back better 100 days after typhoon

Outsmarting nature during disasters

Radiation detected at New Mexico nuclear plant

ABOUT US
Hand-held scanner used to make 3-D maps of crime scenes

Theorists predict new forms of exotic insulating materials

Scientists use 'voting' and 'penalties' to overcome quantum errors

From Stone Age to Space Age: bone pigment helps probe

ABOUT US
Human resource needs putting deep-water ecosystems in peril

Water crisis brings threats of Mideast war, terrorism: report

Meeting the eye-witnesses of ocean change

Threatened eels disappear in the deep on their way to the Sargasso Sea

ABOUT US
Arctic biodiversity under serious threat from climate change according to new report

NOAA researcher says Arctic marine mammals are ecosystem sentinels

US to appoint Arctic envoy

Ice age's arctic tundra lush with wildflowers for woolly mammoths

ABOUT US
EU plans more tests for horsemeat in food

Making biodiverse agriculture part of a food-secure future

Worldwide study finds that fertilizer destabilizes grasslands

Top-down and bottom-up approach needed to conserve potato agrobiodiversity

ABOUT US
Volcanoes, including Mt. Hood, can go from dormant to active quickly

Britain gets respite from flooding crisis

Britain gets respite from flooding crisis

Three dead, flights disrupted as Indonesia volcano erupts

ABOUT US
Africans get a kick out of Shaolin kung fu

Poaching threatens savannah ecosystems

DRC president declares amnesty for former M23 rebels

French defence chief urges crackdown on C.Africa militias

ABOUT US
For new study, 100 people commit their bodies to science

Mobile apps shake up world of dating

Population bomb may be defused, but research reveals ticking household bomb

The genetic origins of high-altitude adaptations in Tibetans




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.