New Fossil Great Ape Discovery
Posted by: Loren Coleman on September 7th, 2007
An ape possibly larger than any other from the Miocene but Gigantopithecus? The announcement of a new big ape, a breaking fossil find out of Turkey, is turning heads. Perhaps the day is growing closer for more finds of Gigantopithecus too?
The new fossil great ape discovery appears to be a species of Ouranopithecus, and thus related to the above species, Ouranopithecus macedoniensis.
A team from the departments of Anthropology at the University of Ankara, Ankara, Turkey, and the University of Yüzüncüyil, Department of Anthropology, The Faculty of Science and Letters, Van, Turkey has recovered a fossil ape (as a new species of Ouranopithecus) from the late Miocene locality of Corakyerler, Turkey. After some comparison of these specimens with other examples of Ouranopithecus as well as Orrorin, Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus, and Australopithecus, the analysis has suggested that Ouranopithecus shows “substantial dentognathic parallelism with Australopithecus.” As a result, the discoverers do not consider these features of Ouranopithecus to indicate placement within the hominid (African ape-human) clade.
The paper (as a pdf) can be located by clicking on its title:
A new great ape from the late Miocene of Turkey.
by Erksin Savas Güleç, Ayla Sevim, Cesur Pehlevan, and Ferhat Kaya
Anthropological Science 115: 153-158, 2007.
Abstract: An adult maxilla and partial mandibles of a hominoid primate recovered from the late Miocene locality of Çorakyerler (central Anatolia) are recognized as a new species of Ouranopithecus, one of the rare western Eurasian hominoids to have survived well into the late Miocene. This species is distinguished from its sister taxon, and likely ancestor Ouranopithecus macedoniensis, by a constellation of dentognathic features. The new species, in which the male postcanine dentition is larger than that of any other Miocene ape besides Gigantopithecus, is associated with evidence indicating an open, dry environment. Dental features of Ouranopithecus apparently evolved in parallel with later Australopithecus, and suggest that Ouranopithecus was adapted to a diet of tough/abrasive foods.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Wonderful! I enjoy hearing about such things, especially when they are found outside of Africa and such places where the great apes are found (for sure) today. By the way, what do they mean here:
“The new species, in which the male postcanine dentition is larger than that of any other Miocene ape besides Gigantopithecus, is associated with evidence indicating an open, dry environment.”
Are they saying just by looking at the canine(s) they know this to be male and that the land was arid? For all we know, the dental placement of these creatures put those canines in either just the female or both sexes had them. As for the size indicating environmental conditions, how do we know that isn’t just the way they were, regardless of whether the environment was arid or wet? I think this is an example of “experts” presuming way too much.
Loren,
Thanks again for bringing this type of news to us. I, for one, very much appreciate it.
Here we go again: once again finding out that we may have to rethink some things. I love it when dogma is forced to become mush; when conventional school of thought is turned upside down.
How exciting this find is. Further evidence that whole world is out there for us, with a whole host of anthropological treasures, and living treasures for us to find. There are still so many puzzle pieces not yet uncovered.
With wonderful new discoveries such as this, I am still amazed how anyone can be dismissive about what potentially still waits to be discovered just behind the curtain.
Thanks again, Loren, for this most outstanding news.
Any indications yet of bipedalism? They appear to have an intact skull! Looks very exciting. Now to find one in BC, say 100 years old 🙂
Loren, where is the image from? Is that a partial reconstruction or is that what they found???
hey loren & everyone this is definetly a very informative new article about a new fossil great ape discovery. good afternoon bill green ct sasquatch researcher.
As noted, the image is not the new find. Per the caption: “The new fossil great ape discovery appears to be a species of Ouranopithecus, and thus related to the above species, Ouranopithecus macedoniensis.”
One only has to go to the pdf, linked given above, to see the elements of what was found.
🙂
Ouranopithecus aqnd Dryopithecus may have given rise to the Great African Apes. Thanks for this important update Loren.
In response to Shumway’s question about the evidence for open arid environments: – the sentence in question is not linking the canine size with the environment, it is simply noting that the species is associated with open environments and that it has large canines. No correlation between the two facts.
Postcaninal dentition is different than canines, as the name implies.
I wonder if National Geographic or someone will do a visual reconstruction soon?