The Link, 47 million year old human ancestor fossil, History Channel, University of Oslo, Jørn Hurum, Ida, Messel Pit, Germany

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The Link, 47 million year old human ancestor fossil, History Channel, University of Oslo, Jørn Hurum, Ida, Messel Pit, Germany

May 27, 2009 by setiorganization

From The History Channel website:

“Scientists have discovered the oldest and most complete fossil of a human ancestor.

An incredible 95 percent complete fossil of a 47-million-year-old human ancestor dubbed Ida has been discovered and, after two years of secret study, an international team of scientists has revealed it to the world. The fossil’s remarkable state of preservation allows an unprecedented glimpse into early human evolution. Discovered in Messel Pit, Germany, it represents the moment before anthropoid primates–the group that would later evolve into humans, apes and monkeys–began to split from lemurs and other prosimian primates. This groundbreaking discovery fills in a critical gap in human and primate evolution.

A cast of the specimen will be on display in the “Extreme Mammals”
exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.”

“Jørn Hurum from the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, uncovered the primate through a chance encounter with a fossil dealer in Hamburg. Immediately recognizing its significance he procured it for his museum. Remarkably, it had been hidden from the world for 25 years in a private collection.

The fossil’s analysis has revealed that it is 47 million years old. Named “Ida” by the scientific team, she lived in the early Middle Eocene during a critical period in evolutionary history when, after the extinction of the dinosaurs, mammals first began to thrive on the planet. The Earth was beginning to take the shape that we recognize today, with the Himalayas forming, and early horses, bats, whales and many other fauna and flora evolving. In primate evolution, our own lineage, the anthropoids (monkeys, apes and humans), split from the branch leading to modern prosimians (lemurs, lorises and tarsiers).

Ida is the most complete primate fossil that has ever been found, at 95 percent–most previous specimens only consist of small teeth and jaw fragments. Even the next most celebrated fossil primate, 3.2-million-year-old “Lucy,” is only 40 percent complete. Sir David Attenborough has described it as “an extraordinary fossil,” and Professor Philip Gingerich of the University of Michigan, added that “it’s really a kind of Rosetta Stone” for understanding evolution. “It’s hard to think of anything else in primate evolution that’s as complete” said Dr. Holly Smith, University of Michigan.”

http://www.history.com/content/the-link/about-the-link/the-link