Illustration of Masripithecus moghraensis
Four specimens, found in North Africa, rewrite the history of hominoids. Masripithecus moghraensis It weighed 25 kilos and ate fruit — but how it moved is unknown.
Discovered in northern Egypt, the primate Masripithecus moghraensiswho lived about 17 million years ago, may be the closest known ancestor of the group that includes great apes — such as humans, chimpanzees and gorillas — as well as small apes, such as gibbons and siamangs.
Fossils of the species were found in 2023 and 2024 at the Wadi Moghra archaeological site, by a team led by Shorouq Al-Ashqarfrom the University of Mansoura. The remains, dated between 17 and 18 million years ago, include four specimens: the front part of a mandible, two molars associated with the same individual and a separate mandibular fragment from another specimen.
According to researchers, cited by , the anatomy of the jaw and teeth provides strong evidence that this species belongs to the lineage of hominoidesa group that is distinguished from monkeys by not having a tail. One of the decisive elements in reaching such a conclusion was the structure of the mandibular symphysis, the area where the two halves of the jaw come together, which has similarities with that of later apes.
Also the molars are revealing. According to Al-Ashqar, the teeth are low, rounded and markedly wrinkled, in addition to the second and third molars being almost the same size. All characteristics consistent with the monkey lineage.
Until now, the main evolutionary advances of the first apes were generally situated in East Africa. The fact that these fossils appeared in North Africa suggests that this region may have played a much more central role in the origin of the group than previously thought.
The researchers estimate that M. moghraensis would weigh close to 25 kilosmaking it larger than apes from the same period, although it had dimensions comparable to those of a small female chimpanzee. The dentition and robustness of the jaw indicate a flexible feedingbased mainly on fruit but capable of including harder foods such as nuts and seeds.
But without limb bones, scientists were unable to determine how this primate moved or whether it spent most of its time in trees or on the ground, according to the study March 26 in Science.
“The discovery of Masripithecuscombined with our analyzes of the relationships between living and extinct apes, and their ancestral biogeography, really challenged my previous assumptions about where the last common ancestor of living apes lived,” says Erik R. Seiffert, who was part of the study, to . “Our study will certainly reignite the debate about the ancestral geography of early hominins.”
