Abstract
Nine hominid dental, cranial and postcranial specimens from Kanapoi, Kenya, and 12 specimens from Allia Bay, Kenya, are described here as a new species of Australopithecus dating from between about 3.9 million and 4.2 million years ago. The mosaic of primitive and derived features shows this species to be a possible ancestor to Australopithecus afarensis and suggests that Ardipithecus ramidus is a sister species to this and all later hominids. A tibia establishes that hominids were bipedal at least half a million years before the previous earliest evidence showed.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
White, T. D., Suwa, G. & Asfaw, B. Nature 371, 306–312 (1994).
White, T. D., Suwa, G. & Asfaw, B. Nature 375, 88 (1995).
WoldeGabriel, G. et al. Nature 371, 330–333 (1994).
Kimbel, W. H., Johanson, D. C. & Rak, Y. Nature 368, 449–451 (1994).
Ward, S., Johanson, D. C. & Coppens, Y. Am. J. phys. Anthrop. 57, 605–630 (1982).
Kohl-Larson, L. Auf den Spuren des Vormenschen; Forschungen Fahrten und Erlebnisse in Deutsch-Ostafrika. (Strecker & Schroder, Stuttgart, 1942).
Puech, P.-F., Cianfarani, F. & Roth, H. J. hum. Evol. 15, 325–332 (1986).
McHenry, H. M. Am. J. phys. Anthrop. 87, 407–431 (1992).
Aiello, L. & Dean, C. An introduction to Human Evolutionary Anatomy (Academic, London, 1990).
Latimer, B., Ohman, J. C. & Lovejoy, C. O. Am. J. phys. Anthrop. 74, 155–175 (1987).
Patterson, B. & Howells, W. W. Science 156, 64–66 (1967).
Day, M. H. in Early Hominids of Africa (ed. Jolly, C. J.) 311–345 (Duckworth, London, 1978).
Senut, B. Coll. anthrop. 4, 87–94 (1980).
Senut, B. & Tardieu, C. in Ancestors: The Hard Evidence (ed. Delson, E.) 193–201 (Liss, New York, 1985).
Namwamba, F. thesis, Univ. Utah (1983).
Feibel, C. S., Brown, F. H. & McDougall, I. Am. J. phys. Anthrop. 78, 595–622 (1989).
Coffing, K., Feibel, C., Leakey, M. & Walker, A. Am. J. phys. Anthrop. 93, 55–65 (1994).
McDougall, I. Bull. geol. Soc. Am. 96, 159–175 (1985).
White, T. D. et al. Nature 366, 261–265 (1993).
Harris, J. M. in Laetoli: A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania (eds Leakey, M. D. & Harris, J. M.) 524–531 (Clarendon, Oxford, 1987).
Johanson, D. C., Taieb, M. & Coppens, Y. Am. J. phys. Anthrop. 57, 373–402 (1982).
McDougall, I. & Harrison, T. M. Geochronology and Thermochronology by the 40Ar/39Ar Method (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1988).
Cebula, G. T. et al. Terra Cognita 6, 139–140 (1986).
Steven, T. A., Mehnert, H. H. & Obradovich, J. D. U.S. Geol. Surv. prof. Pap. 575-D, 47–55 (1967).
Brown, F. H. & Feibel, C. S. in Koobifora Research Project Vol. 3 (ed. Harris, J. M.) 1–30 (Clarendon, Oxford, 1991).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leakey, M., Feibel, C., McDougall, I. et al. New four-million-year-old hominid species from Kanapoi and Allia Bay, Kenya. Nature 376, 565–571 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/376565a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/376565a0
This article is cited by
-
The effects of mid-to-late Pliocene climatic fluctuations on the habitat and distribution of early hominins
Human Ecology (2023)
-
Ineluctably us: early hominid discoveries, mass media, and the reification of human ancestors
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences (2020)
-
Age and context of mid-Pliocene hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia
Nature (2019)
-
A 3.8-million-year-old hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia
Nature (2019)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
