Graecopithecus: A man of the old from Greece

Diomedes

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By chance I found this article that was published recently (by Jochen Fuss, Nikolai Spassov, David R. Begun, and Madelaine Böhme at PlosOne):

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0177127

Title: Potential hominin affinities of Graecopithecus from the Late Miocene of Europe

Abstract: The split of our own clade from the Panini is undocumented in the fossil record. To fill this gap we investigated the dentognathic morphology of Graecopithecus freybergi from Pyrgos Vassilissis (Greece) and cf. Graecopithecus sp. from Azmaka (Bulgaria), using new μCT and 3D reconstructions of the two known specimens. Pyrgos Vassilissis and Azmaka are currently dated to the early Messinian at 7.175 Ma and 7.24 Ma. Mainly based on its external preservation and the previously vague dating, Graecopithecus is often referred to as nomen dubium. The examination of its previously unknown dental root and pulp canal morphology confirms the taxonomic distinction from the significantly older northern Greek hominine Ouranopithecus. Furthermore, it shows features that point to a possible phylogenetic affinity with hominins. G. freybergi uniquely shares p4 partial root fusion and a possible canine root reduction with this tribe and therefore, provides intriguing evidence of what could be the oldest known hominin.
 
So the split for us and other primates must have happened earlier than that. Long, long, long time ago...
 
Well, I posted an original article published in a journal. I reckon that something published is an original work.
No problem Diomedes. Of course we have to start with the paper.

I just meant that with early hominid papers I always like to read his opinion because he's an expert and often people in the press and the amateur community misinterpret these kinds of papers.
 

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