Australopithecus anamensis

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Today's New York Times reports (CNN last night had a snippet) that there
will be an article in today's Nature about the discovery of a new
hominid species.
Authors: Meave Leakey (team leader), Alan Walker (anatomist), Craig Feibel
and Ian McDougall (both geologists).
21 specimens, including teeth, jaw parts, cranial parts, tibia, and humerus.
Age : 3.9 to 4.2 mya.
Two sites : Kanapoi (SW of Turkana), Allia Bay (E shore, near Koobi Fora).
Picture of jaw looks very rectangular.
Thick enamel. Large canines. Tibia shows bipedalism.
Named A. anamensis [anam is a Turkana word meaning lake].
Ian Tattersall and Johanson, interviewed separately, agree that this looks
much more in line with afarensis than ramidus does. In fact, this gives
strength to the idea that ramidus is an offshoot. No comment from White.

Seems to me (if everything is true) that this is the biggest news about
early hominids since Lucy.

Daan Sandee sandee@think.com
Cambridge, MA 02142

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