© Sevim-Erol, A., Begun, D.R., Sözer, Ç.S. et al.A new face and partial brain case of Anadoluvius turkae, a fossil hominine — the group that includes African apes and humans – from the Çorakyerler fossil site located in Central Anatolia, Türkiye.
Analysis of a newly identified ape named
Anadoluvius turkae recovered from the Çorakyerler fossil locality near Çankırı with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Türkiye, shows Mediterranean fossil apes are diverse and part of the first known radiation of early hominines — the group that includes African apes (chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas), humans and their fossil ancestors.
The findings are described in
a new study published in Communications Biology co-authored by an international team of researchers led by Professor
David Begun at the University of Toronto and Professor Ayla Sevim Erol at Ankara University.
Our findings further suggest that hominines not only evolved in western and central Europe but spent over five million years evolving there and spreading to the eastern Mediterranean before eventually dispersing into Africa, probably as a consequence of changing environments and diminishing forests," said Begun, professor in the
Department of Anthropology in the Faculty of Arts & Science. "The members of this radiation to which
Anadoluvius belongs are currently only identified in Europe and Anatolia."
The conclusion is based on analysis of a significantly well-preserved partial cranium uncovered at the site in 2015, which includes most of the facial structure and the front part of the brain case.
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