Sites: Tugen Hills, Central Kenya. The remains of this early hominid has been recovered from four localities in the Lukeino Formation in the Tugen Hills, Kenya.
Age: 6 million years ago (Miocene), using volcanic tuffs.
Type specimen: "Millenium Man"; BAR 1000a'00 and BAR 1000b'00 Specimens: 13 skeletal elements (minimum number of individuals 5). Several isolated upper and lower teeth, lower jaw fragment with teeth, arm bones, finger bone, a partial left femur and a complete toe bone. Cranial capacity: No skull found yet Cranial architecture: Dentition: The teeth of O. tugenensis, indicate a closer relationship to Homo sapiens than many Australopithecus species that came after it. The molars are small and square with thick enamel compared to australopithecene teeth. Australopithecene molars are also thickly enameled but much larger. In contrast, the upper canine is large for a hominid and retains a narrow and shallow anterior groove and the lower fourth premolar is also ape-like. Postcranial: Seems more like a bipedal hominid than a chimpanzee.
Environment: Other fauna found with Orrorin indicates a wooded to forested environment. Length and weight: Preliminary analyses suggest the hominid, the size of a chimpanzee, was an agile climber and that it walked on two legs when on the ground. Tools: Ancestor: Descendants: General: The Kenya Palaeontology Expedition (KPE) announced in December 2000 the discovery of a new hominid (Millenium Man). The team includes Martin Pickford and Brigette Senut. Research continues on whether these remains should be classified as hominids. The authors suggest that these fossils represent the earliest bipedal hominid and the second oldest hominin ancestor related to modern humans (the oldest possibly being Sahelanthropus tchadensis). References:
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