Australopithecus bahrelghazali
Encyclopedia
Australopithecus bahrelghazali is a fossil
hominin that was first discovered in 1993 by the paleontologist Michel Brunet
in the Bahr el Ghazal valley near Koro Toro
, in Chad
, that Brunet named Abel
. It was dated using Beryllium-based Radiometric dating
as living circa 3.6 million years ago.
The find consists of a mandibular fragment, a lower second incisor, both lower canines, and all four of its premolars, still affixed within the dental alveoli. The specimen's proper name is KT-12/H1; "Abel" is the informal name, a dedication to Brunet's deceased colleague Abel Brillanceau. The specimen located roughly 2,500 kilometers West from the East Africa
n Great Rift Valley
.
The mandible KT-12/H1 discovered has similar features to the dentition of Australopithecus afarensis
; this has brought researchers like William Kimbel to argue that Abel is not an exemplar of a separate species
, but "falls within the range of variation" of the Australopithecus afarensis. By 1996, Brunet and his team classified KT 12/H1 as the holotype specimen for Australopithecus bahrelghazali. This claim is difficult to substantiate, as the describers have kept KT 12/H1 locked away from the general paleoanthropological community, contrary to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature 1999. This species is a mystery to some as it is the only australopithecine
fossil found in Central Africa
. It is also of great importance as it was the first fossil to show that geographically there is a "a third window" of early hominid evolution.
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
hominin that was first discovered in 1993 by the paleontologist Michel Brunet
Michel Brunet (paleontologist)
Michel Brunet is a French paleontologist and a professor at the Collège de France. In 2001 Brunet announced the discovery in Central Africa of the skull and jaw remains of a late Miocene hominid nicknamed Toumaï...
in the Bahr el Ghazal valley near Koro Toro
Koro Toro
Koro Toro is an anthropological and an archaeological site located in southern Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region in Chad. It is known for the discovery of the Australopithecus bahrelghazali fossil hominin that was first discovered in January 1995....
, in Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, that Brunet named Abel
Abel (hominid)
Abel is the name given to the only specimen ever discovered of Australopithecus bahrelghazali. Abel was found in January 1995 in Chad in the Kanem Region by the paleontologist Michel Brunet, who named the fossil "Abel" in memory of his close friend Abel Brillanceau, who had died of malaria in...
. It was dated using Beryllium-based Radiometric dating
Radiometric dating
Radiometric dating is a technique used to date materials such as rocks, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products, using known decay rates...
as living circa 3.6 million years ago.
The find consists of a mandibular fragment, a lower second incisor, both lower canines, and all four of its premolars, still affixed within the dental alveoli. The specimen's proper name is KT-12/H1; "Abel" is the informal name, a dedication to Brunet's deceased colleague Abel Brillanceau. The specimen located roughly 2,500 kilometers West from the East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
n Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
.
The mandible KT-12/H1 discovered has similar features to the dentition of Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A...
; this has brought researchers like William Kimbel to argue that Abel is not an exemplar of a separate species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, but "falls within the range of variation" of the Australopithecus afarensis. By 1996, Brunet and his team classified KT 12/H1 as the holotype specimen for Australopithecus bahrelghazali. This claim is difficult to substantiate, as the describers have kept KT 12/H1 locked away from the general paleoanthropological community, contrary to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature 1999. This species is a mystery to some as it is the only australopithecine
Australopithecine
The term australopithecine refers generally to any species in the related genera Australopithecus or Paranthropus. These species occurred in the Plio-Pleistocene era, and were bipedal and dentally similar to humans, but with a brain size not much larger than modern apes, lacking the...
fossil found in Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
. It is also of great importance as it was the first fossil to show that geographically there is a "a third window" of early hominid evolution.
See also
- List of fossil sites (with link directory)
- List of hominina (hominid) fossils (with images)
External links
- http://www.msu.edu/~heslipst/contents/ANP440/bahrelghazali.htm
- http://www.columbia.edu/itc/anthropology/v1007/2002projects/web/australopithecus/austro.html