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Palaeoanthropology (communication arising)

Sahelanthropus or 'Sahelpithecus'?

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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.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Paleoanthropology Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48109-1382, Michigan, USA

    Milford H. Wolpoff

  2. Laboratoire de Paléontologie du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 8569 CNRS, Paris, 75005, France

    Brigitte Senut

  3. Chaire de Paléoanthropologie et de Préhistoire du Collège de France, UMR 8569 CNRS, Paris, 75005, France

    Martin Pickford

  4. Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 53706, Wisconsin, USA

    John Hawks

Authors
  1. Milford H. Wolpoff
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  2. Brigitte Senut
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  3. Martin Pickford
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  4. John Hawks
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Correspondence to Milford H. Wolpoff.

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Wolpoff, M., Senut, B., Pickford, M. et al. Sahelanthropus or 'Sahelpithecus'?. Nature 419, 581–582 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/419581a

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