Sahelanthropus or 'Sahelpithecus'?

Milford H. Wolpoff (), Brigitte Senut, Martin Pickford and John Hawks
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Milford H. Wolpoff: Paleoanthropology Laboratory, University of Michigan
Brigitte Senut: Laboratoire de Paléontologie du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
Martin Pickford: Chaire de Paléoanthropologie et de Préhistoire du Collège de France
John Hawks: University of Wisconsin

Nature, 2002, vol. 419, issue 6907, 581-582

Abstract: Abstract Beginning with Ramapithecus, there has been a continued search for an ape-like hominid ancestor in the Miocene Epoch. Sahelanthropus tchadensis is an enigmatic new Miocene species, whose characteristics are a mix of those of apes and Homo erectus and which has been proclaimed by Brunet et al. to be the earliest hominid1. However, we believe that features of the dentition, face and cranial base that are said to define unique links between this Toumaï specimen and the hominid clade are either not diagnostic or are consequences of biomechanical adaptations. To represent a valid clade, hominids must share unique defining features2, and Sahelanthropus does not appear to have been an obligate biped.

Date: 2002
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DOI: 10.1038/419581a

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