Ardipithecus ramidus
Ardipithecus ramidus | |
---|---|
A. ramidus at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Family: | Hominidae |
Subfamily: | Homininae |
Tribe: | Hominini |
Genus: | †Ardipithecus |
Species: | †A. ramidus
|
Binomial name | |
†Ardipithecus ramidus | |
Synonyms | |
|
Ardipithecus ramidus is a species of
The facial anatomy suggests that A. ramidus males were less aggressive than those of modern chimps, which is correlated to increased parental care and monogamy in primates. It has also been suggested that it was among the earliest of human ancestors to use some proto-language, possibly capable of vocalizing at the same level as a human infant. This is based on evidence of human-like skull architecture, cranial base angle and vocal tract dimensions, all of which in A. ramidus are paedomorphic when compared to chimpanzees and bonobos. This suggests the trend toward paedomorphic or juvenile-like form evident in human evolution, may have begun with A. ramidus. Given these unique features, it has been argued that in A. ramidus we may have the first evidence of human-like forms of social behaviour, vocally mediated sociality as well as increased levels of prosociality via the process of self-domestication—all of which seem to be associated with the same underlying changes in skull architecture. A. ramidus appears to have inhabited woodland and bushland corridors between savannas, and was a generalized omnivore.
Taxonomy
The first remains were described in 1994 by American anthropologist
Fossils from at least nine A. ramidus individuals at As Duma, Gona Western Margin, Afar, were unearthed from 1993 to 2003. The fossils were dated to between 4.32 and 4.51 million years ago.[4]
In 2001, 6.5- to 5.5-million-year-old fossils from the
The exact
Before the discovery of Ardipithecus and other pre-Australopithecus hominins, it was assumed that the
Description
Assuming subsistence was primarily sourced from climbing in trees, A. ramidus may not have exceeded 35–60 kg (77–132 lb). "Ardi," a larger female specimen, was estimated to have stood 117–124 cm (3 ft 10 in – 4 ft 1 in) and weighed 51 kg (112 lb) based on comparisons with large-bodied female apes.[14] Unlike the later Australopithecus but much like chimps and humans, males and females were about the same size.[3]
A. ramidus had a small brain, measuring 300–350 cc (18–21 cu in). This is slightly smaller than a modern bonobo or chimp brain, but much smaller than the brain of Australopithecus—about 400–550 cc (24–34 cu in)—and roughly 20% the size of the modern human brain. Like chimps, the A. ramidus face was much more pronounced (prognathic) than modern humans.[15] The size of the upper canine tooth in A. ramidus males was not distinctly different from that of females (only 12% larger), in contrast to the sexual dimorphism observed in chimps where males have significantly larger and sharper upper canines than females.[3][16]
A. ramidus feet are better suited for walking than chimps. However, like non-human great apes, but unlike all previously recognized human ancestors, it had a grasping big toe adapted for locomotion in the trees (an
The upper pelvis (distance from the
Paleobiology
The reduced canine size and reduced skull robustness in A. ramidus males (about the same size in males and females) is typically correlated with reduced male–male conflict, increased parental investment, and
Australian anthropologists Gary Clark and
American primatologist
The teeth of A. ramidus indicate that it was likely a generalized
Paleoecology
Half of the large mammal species associated with A. ramidus at Aramis are
See also
- Australopithecus – Genus of hominin ancestral to modern humans
- Ardi – Designation of the fossilized skeletal remains of an Ardipithecus ramidus
- Graecopithecus – Extinct genus of hominids
- Orrorin – Postulated early hominin discovered in Kenya
- Paranthropus – Contested extinct genus of hominins
- Sahelanthropus – Extinct hominid from Miocene Africa
References
- ^ S2CID 4347140. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2013-04-13.
- PMID 7677838.
- ^ PMID 25901308.
- S2CID 4431031.
- ^ S2CID 4432082.
- S2CID 30387762.
- ^ S2CID 84197134.
- S2CID 14235881.
- ^ S2CID 20189444.
- ^ PMID 21388620.
- PMID 24395771.
- ^ S2CID 42790876.
- ^ PMID 20508112.
- S2CID 19629241.
- S2CID 19725410.
- ^ S2CID 3744438.
- ^ S2CID 26778544.
- S2CID 37251630.
- S2CID 19505251.
- PMID 31038121.
- S2CID 85500710.
- ^ .
- PMID 28363458.
- .
- .
- PMID 25510078.
- S2CID 14837552.
- PMID 22186898.
- S2CID 13825029.
- S2CID 11646395.
- ISBN 9780813724461.