Egyptian ape fossil challenges East African origins of living apes
Discovery of Masripithecus moghraensis suggests North Africa and the Middle East may have been key regions for early ape evolution
The discovery of a 17- to 18-million-year-old ape jaw in northern Egypt challenges a long-standing assumption that the evolutionary roots of all living apes, including humans, were centered in or around East Africa. The new species, named Masripithecus moghraensis, is the first definitive fossil ape found in North Africa, and additional analyses point to northern Africa and the Middle East as the most likely home of the common ancestor of living apes.