Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Science

Tanzania Fossils May Pinpoint Critical Split Between Apes and Monkeys 25

sciencehabit writes "From the human perspective, few events in evolution were more momentous than the split among primates that led to apes (large, tailless primates such as today's gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans) and Old World monkeys (which today include baboons and macaques). DNA studies of living primates have estimated that the rift took place between 25 million and 30 million years ago, but the earliest known fossils of both groups date no earlier than 20 million years ago. Now, a team working in Tanzania has found teeth and partial jaws from what it thinks are 25-million-year-old ancestors of both groups. If the interpretations hold up (abstract), the finds would reconcile the molecular and fossil evidence and possibly provide insights into what led to the split in the first place."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Tanzania Fossils May Pinpoint Critical Split Between Apes and Monkeys

Comments Filter:

What is research but a blind date with knowledge? -- Will Harvey

Working...