A discovery in Egypt is upending everything we know about the origins of the great apes, including that of humans.
While scientists have long concentrated their efforts in East Africa, a fossil 17 to 18 million years old, unearthed in what is now northern Egypt, now points to this region as the possible cradle of this lineage.
Illustration image from Pixabay
The discovered species, named
Masripithecus moghraensis, is the subject of a publication in the journal
Science. Coming from the Wadi Moghra formation, it offers a glimpse into a pivotal period. At that time, land bridges connected Afro-Arabia, then united, to Eurasia. This facilitated the movement of fauna. The morphology of the fossil, notably a jaw fragment, positions this being as the closest known relative of the group that gave rise to all modern great apes.
To place
Masripithecus in the evolutionary tree, paleontologists used a statistical method. This approach, combining the analysis of anatomical characteristics with the age of the fossils, confirmed its central place. The species belongs to the stem hominoids, the group directly preceding the divergence that led to orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. It thus constitutes an essential link in the diversification of tailless apes.
This discovery suggests that the origin of great apes could lie in northern Afro-Arabia, an area including the Levant and the eastern Mediterranean. This proposal differs from work traditionally focused much further south. It also recalls the incomplete nature of the African fossil record, where many areas remain underexplored.
The researchers' work also shows that the evolution of hominoids does not follow a linear and simple scenario. The presence of
Masripithecus in Egypt, at a time when the first apes were beginning their dispersal towards Eurasia, testifies to multiple migrations and adaptations.
Mandibular fragment of Masripithecus moghraensis with a molar, as discovered.
Credit: Professor Hesham Sallam
By expanding investigations beyond classical sites, scientists hope to uncover other species that will clarify the steps that led to the emergence of modern great apes.
Why is North Africa an important region?
The discovery in Egypt draws attention to the role of the northern part of the African continent in the early evolution of primates. During the Early Miocene, about 20 million years ago, the geography of this region was very different. Afro-Arabia, which included Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, was connected to Eurasia by several land corridors, notably via what is now the Middle East.
These continental bridges functioned as biological crossroads. They allowed faunal exchanges in both directions: animals from Africa migrated to Europe and Asia, and vice versa. For the early apes, this meant accessing new habitats, new food sources, and facing different competition. These environmental pressures likely stimulated evolution and the rapid diversification of new traits.
The Wadi Moghra site, where
Masripithecus was found, is a witness to this period of connections with an ancient coastal or deltaic ecosystem, rich in biodiversity. Finding a hominoid fossil there so close to our lineage is significant. It indicates that the ancestors of modern great apes may have evolved in these transitional environments, before dispersing more widely.
It also shows that focusing solely on the famous deposits of East Africa, which are more recent for human history, can create a bias. The evolution of hominoids is a pan-African story, and perhaps even a Eurasian one.