| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Andres64" |
| Date: |
23 Aug 2007 08:25:54 AM |
| Object: |
OT: New great ape found |
Fossils belong to new great ape
By Liz Seward
Nine fossilised teeth found in Ethiopia are from a previously unknown
species of great ape, Nature journal reports.
The 10 million-year-old fossils belong to an animal that has been
named Chororapithecus abyssinicus by an Ethiopian-Japanese team.
This new species could be a direct ancestor of living African great
apes, say the researchers.
The finds from the Afar rift, in eastern Ethiopia, raise questions on
current theories of human evolution.
The researchers say the fossils from Ethiopia probably belonged to an
ape from the gorilla family.
Evolutionary divide
Based on genetic evidence, gorillas and humans were thought to have
split away from a common ancestor about eight million years ago.
The 10-million-year age of the fossils led the research team to
suggest that the split must have happened earlier than 10.5 million
years ago.
If correct, molecular and DNA studies will need to be revisited.
The team's claims that the teeth belong to a member of the gorilla
family stem from similarities with teeth of modern gorillas.
They carried out cutting-edge 3D analysis of the molar tooth's
structure and found that both gorillas and the new species had a
unique specialisation for eating fibrous foodstuffs such as stems and
leaves.
"It's a subtle distinction, but we've compared it with everything we
could think of," said Dr Suwa from the University of Tokyo and a
member of the research team.
"And it does show some telling signs of gorilla-like molar structure.
If it's not a gorilla relative, then it's something very similar to
what an early gorilla must have looked like."
Vegetarian tastes
Gorillas are unique among modern and fossil large-bodied apes in
having molars that are specialised for shredding fibrous vegetation.
The reason for this is that large-bodied gorillas depend on stems and
leaves as an important part of their diet.
Not everyone agrees with the team's conclusions, however. Professor
Peter Andrews, from London's Natural History Museum, commented: "It is
stretching the evidence to base a time scale for the evolution of the
great apes on this new fossil."
Professor Andrews believes the structures found on the teeth could be
related to the diet of the animal.
He added: "These structures appear on at least three independent
lineages of apes, including gorillas, and they could relate to a
dietary shift rather than indicating a new genetic trait."
Fossil record
What is not in doubt is that the find itself is impressive.
"The ancestry of humans is increasingly well known, but the fossil
evidence for the evolution of our closest living relatives, the great
apes, is almost non-existent," Professor Andrews explained.
"It is really exciting therefore to find a fossil ape from this time
period - about 10 million years ago - since there is only one other
fossil ape known from this time, the more complete Samburupithecus ."
The find also supports data that suggests Africa was the origin of
both humans and modern African apes.
The teeth were discovered in a region that is about 170km (110 miles)
east of Addis Ababa.
In an area of the Oromiya National Regional State, there are exposed
patches of sediments that are 10 to 11 million years old, putting them
in the Miocene Epoch. Hence, they are known as Miocene Chorora
Formation.
The name of the ape is taken from the geological formation Chorora and
the former name of Ethiopia, Abyssinia.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/6958313.stm
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| User: "Ben Kaufman" |
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| Title: Re: OT: New great ape found |
23 Aug 2007 09:04:44 AM |
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On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:25:54 -0000, Andres64 <andresc64@excite.com> wrote:
Fossils belong to new great ape
By Liz Seward
<SNIP>
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/6958313.stm
This is horrible. It seems that a lot more animals missed the ark than
originally believed. :-o
Ben
;-)
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: OT: New great ape found |
23 Aug 2007 04:57:53 PM |
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On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:04:44 -0400, Ben Kaufman
<spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote:
This is horrible. It seems that a lot more animals missed the ark than
originally believed. :-o
And, unfortunately, that primitive-brained species known as
Fundamentalis Christianus didn't.
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| User: "Ben Kaufman" |
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| Title: Re: OT: New great ape found |
23 Aug 2007 05:54:47 PM |
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On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:57:53 -0400, Al Klein <rukbat@pern.invalid> wrote:
On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:04:44 -0400, Ben Kaufman
<spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote:
This is horrible. It seems that a lot more animals missed the ark than
originally believed. :-o
And, unfortunately, that primitive-brained species known as
Fundamentalis Christianus didn't.
Well, as we all "know" when humanity, but for the few on the ark, was
exterminated the gene pool was very limited and there must have been a lot of
interbreeding going on.
Ben
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: OT: New great ape found |
23 Aug 2007 07:38:31 PM |
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On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 18:54:47 -0400, Ben Kaufman
<spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote:
On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:57:53 -0400, Al Klein <rukbat@pern.invalid> wrote:
On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:04:44 -0400, Ben Kaufman
<spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote:
This is horrible. It seems that a lot more animals missed the ark than
originally believed. :-o
And, unfortunately, that primitive-brained species known as
Fundamentalis Christianus didn't.
Well, as we all "know" when humanity, but for the few on the ark, was
exterminated the gene pool was very limited and there must have been a lot of
interbreeding going on.
But with bacteria?
.
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| User: "Ben Kaufman" |
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| Title: Re: OT: New great ape found |
23 Aug 2007 08:51:11 PM |
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On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:38:31 -0400, Al Klein <rukbat@pern.invalid> wrote:
On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 18:54:47 -0400, Ben Kaufman
<spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote:
On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:57:53 -0400, Al Klein <rukbat@pern.invalid> wrote:
On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:04:44 -0400, Ben Kaufman
<spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote:
This is horrible. It seems that a lot more animals missed the ark than
originally believed. :-o
And, unfortunately, that primitive-brained species known as
Fundamentalis Christianus didn't.
Well, as we all "know" when humanity, but for the few on the ark, was
exterminated the gene pool was very limited and there must have been a lot of
interbreeding going on.
But with bacteria?
Oh no, that was strictly forbidden along with putting methane, hydrogen,
ammonia and water into a sealed flask with an occasional discharge of high
voltage (later known as the Stanley Miller experiment). But unfortunately, the
goat skins this was written down on have been lost for eons.
Ben
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