3
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
2 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Dental metrics of Sahelanthropus tchadensis: A comparative analysis with apes and Plio-Pleistocene hominins

      research-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Since discovery and description of the species, Sahelanthropus tchadensis has been at the centre of a great discussion around its classification as a hominin - the first of our lineage - or an ape. Many studies have been conducted in order to clarify this question, especially studies based on the morphology of the cranium and the post-cranial remains. In this study, we analysed the posterior dentition of S. tchadensis in relation to those of other hominins and chimpanzees, using a multivariate comparative metric analysis. Our results suggest that the posterior dentition of the Chad material lies in the range of well-established early Plio-Pleistocene hominins, supporting its classification as part of the hominin lineage. SIGNIFICANCE: • The subject investigated in this study is important to the understanding of the first steps of human evolution. • Much has been discussed about this Chadian species. Some believe it is the first hominin, others believe it is an ape. • This study shows that the posterior dentition of S. tchadensis does not preclude it from being a hominin.

          Related collections

          Most cited references20

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Book: not found

          R: a language and environment for statistical computing

            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa.

            The search for the earliest fossil evidence of the human lineage has been concentrated in East Africa. Here we report the discovery of six hominid specimens from Chad, central Africa, 2,500 km from the East African Rift Valley. The fossils include a nearly complete cranium and fragmentary lower jaws. The associated fauna suggest the fossils are between 6 and 7 million years old. The fossils display a unique mosaic of primitive and derived characters, and constitute a new genus and species of hominid. The distance from the Rift Valley, and the great antiquity of the fossils, suggest that the earliest members of the hominid clade were more widely distributed than has been thought, and that the divergence between the human and chimpanzee lineages was earlier than indicated by most molecular studies.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Virtual cranial reconstruction of Sahelanthropus tchadensis.

              Previous research in Chad at the Toros-Menalla 266 fossiliferous locality (about 7 million years old) uncovered a nearly complete cranium (TM 266-01-60-1), three mandibular fragments and several isolated teeth attributed to Sahelanthropus tchadensis. Of this material, the cranium is especially important for testing hypotheses about the systematics and behavioural characteristics of this species, but is partly distorted from fracturing, displacement and plastic deformation. Here we present a detailed virtual reconstruction of the TM 266 cranium that corrects these distortions. The reconstruction confirms that S. tchadensis is a hominid and is not more closely related to the African great apes. Analysis of the basicranium further indicates that S. tchadensis might have been an upright biped, suggesting that bipedalism was present in the earliest known hominids, and probably arose soon after the divergence of the chimpanzee and human lineages.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                sajs
                South African Journal of Science
                S. Afr. j. sci.
                Academy of Science of South Africa (Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa )
                0038-2353
                1996-7489
                August 2024
                : 120
                : 7-8
                : 1-4
                Affiliations
                [01] São Paulo orgnameUniversity of São Paulo orgdiv1Institute of Advanced Studies Brazil
                Article
                S0038-23532024000400024 S0038-2353(24)12000700024
                10.17159/sajs.2024/16362
                9988543b-9536-49e8-a40f-2e8fe6280417

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

                History
                : 22 June 2023
                : 31 May 2024
                : 13 May 2024
                Page count
                Figures: 0, Tables: 0, Equations: 0, References: 20, Pages: 4
                Product

                SciELO South Africa

                Categories
                Research Letter

                teeth,Chad,early hominins,Miocene,multivariate analysis
                teeth, Chad, early hominins, Miocene, multivariate analysis

                Comments

                Comment on this article