Australopithecus Ramidus - The Earliest Hominid?
Fossils recently found in Aramis, Ethiopia
were compared with Australopithecus Afarensis and modern and fossil apes.
It was recognized that these fossils were distinct, and from a new species.
They were given the name Australopithecus Ramidus, which means "root"
in the Afar language. A. Ramidus has been dated to approximately 4.4 million
years old. Thus far, what distinquishes Ramidus from other species is its
very primitive dentition. Ramidus may be an intermediate between chimpanzees
and early hominids such as Australopithecus Afarensis. Ramidus may have
been developing bipedality, lived in a forest environment, and probably
was the only hominid alive at the time. Ramidus, although a hominid, is
very ape-like, and it is probably the closest fossil find to date to the
common ancestor between chimpanzees and ourselves.
By: Julie Brewington, 1995, ASM101