Orrorin tugenensis

Orrorin tugenensis (abbreviated O. tugenensis) is an extinct species of hominid. It is one of the oldest early humans ever to exist. Scientists think it is the second-oldest known hominin ancestor that is possibly related to modern humans. 

Individuals of this species were about the size of a modern chimpanzee. They climbed trees, but probably also walked on two feet. (This is called bipedalism.) 

O. tugenensis is one of two species in the genus Orrorin. The other is Orrorin praegensPickford, Martin; Senut, Brigitte; Gommery, Dominique; Kipkech, Joseph (2022). "New Pliocene hominid fossils from Baringo County, Kenya". Fossil Imprint. 78 (2): 451–488. doi:10.37520/fi.2022.020. ISSN 2533-4069. S2CID 255055545.. 

 Discovery 
In 1974 the first Orrorin tugenensis fossil was found by Martin Pickford in the Tugen Hills of Kenya.Pickford, M. (1975). "Late Miocene sediments and fossils from the Northern Kenya Rift Valley". Nature. 256 (5515): 279–284. Bibcode:1975Natur.256..279P. doi:10.1038/256279a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 4149259. The name tugenensis refers to this location. 

Later, additional fossils were found in the same location. They were estimated be between 6.2 and 6.0 million years old, from the late Miocene epoch.

 Related pages 
 Human timeline
 Human evolution
 Hominidae
Category:Hominins
Category:Prehistoric Africa

 References