Here he is, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, an ancient ape, thought to be an ancestor to all great apes, us included.
The partial skeleton of the 13-million-year-old 'missing link' was found at a building site near Barcelona.
Palaeontologists from the Miquel Crusafont Institute of Palaeontology have found parts of the skull, ribcage, spine, hands and feet.
This fine specimen of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus was probably male, a fruit-eater and was slightly smaller than a chimpanzee.
Great apes are thought to have separated from the lesser apes some time between 11 and 16 million years ago.
Scientists believe this creature lived after the lesser apes went their own evolutionary way, but before the great apes began their own diversification into orang-utans, gorillas, chimps and humans.
Pierolapithecus probably is, or is very close to, the last common ancestor of great apes and humans.
The partial skeleton of the 13-million-year-old 'missing link' was found at a building site near Barcelona.
Palaeontologists from the Miquel Crusafont Institute of Palaeontology have found parts of the skull, ribcage, spine, hands and feet.
This fine specimen of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus was probably male, a fruit-eater and was slightly smaller than a chimpanzee.
Great apes are thought to have separated from the lesser apes some time between 11 and 16 million years ago.
Scientists believe this creature lived after the lesser apes went their own evolutionary way, but before the great apes began their own diversification into orang-utans, gorillas, chimps and humans.
Pierolapithecus probably is, or is very close to, the last common ancestor of great apes and humans.
posted by Susanna Duffy @ 1:48 PM
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