Graecopithecus

*Graecopithecus*, known as "El Graeco", is an extinct genus of hominid that lived in Greece during the Late Miocene.

## History

*G. freybergi* is a species of hominin that was originally identified by a single mandible found in 1944. It was reportedly found when German forces were building a war bunker. A mandible with a very worn third molar, a fragmented premolar and second molar root were found. Since then, analysis of tooth specimens dated to 7.2 million years ago. It is formally redescribed and reinterpreted in 2017. The mandible and a fragment of a premolar is from a site called Pyrgos Vassilissis, northwest of Athens; Greece. As of 1986, the site is no longer accessible, as the owner has decided to construct a swimming pool.

## Description

—Sergio Almécija
It may have been the same taxon as *Ouranopithecus*, a hominid spanning Europe. It is the least well known of the European hominids. A detailed morphology study in 2017 suggests it was a hominin, an ancestor to *Homo* but not to *Pan*. If this is correct, *Graecopithecus* would be the oldest of the human lineage after the *H.*-*P.* split - often called a mythical "missing link" - between *Homo* and non-*Homo* hominids. It was found ~2000 years older than the oldest African hominid, not necessarily a human ancestor, *Sahelanthropus*.

*Homo* diverges 4 million years after *Graecopithecus*, so it does not predate emergence, but press reporting on the 2017 study found this to find the "birthplace of mankind". It lived 7.2 million years ago in Europe, where it could have migrated into Africa and evolved into *Homo*. David Begun, co-author of the 2017 paper, said that "[t]his dating allows us to move the human-chimpanzee split into the Mediterranean area", with an uninvolved anthropologist replying: "[i]t is possible that the human lineage originated in Europe, but very substantial fossil evidence places the origin in Africa [...] I would be hesitant about using a single character from an isolated fossil to set against the evidence from Africa". It was proposed *Graecopithecus* may not be a direct ancestor, but evolved hominin-like traits convergently. This is backed by "not all anthropologists agree with Begun and his team's conclusions. As noted by New Scientist, it is possible that the Nikiti ape is not related to hominins at all. It may have evolved similar features independently, developing teeth to eat similar foods or chew in a similar manner as early hominins".

Others are skeptic of Begun's classification. Bernard Wood describes it as a relatively weak hypothesis, and Sergio Almécija states primates tend to evolve similar traits when actually unrelated. Tim White claims the hypothesis is poor because the known material is "crappy". The ape was nicknamed "El Graeco", in reference to it's name, by scientists .

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22153571/
2. ↑ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/05/22/europe-birthplace-mankind-not-africa-scientists-find/
3. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5439669/
4. ↑ https://bigthink.com/life/evolution-europe/#rebelltitem2
5. ↑ https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=Ezm1OA\_s6isC&pg=PA361&redir\_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
6. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5439672/
7. ↑ https://sajs.co.za/article/view/3846
8. ↑ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02381616
9. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3078397/
10. ↑ https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=zWs5AAAAIAAJ&q=Pyrgos+Tour+la+Reine&pg=PA107&redir\_esc=y#v=snippet&q=Pyrgos%20Tour%20la%20Reine&f=false
11. ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0753396905000315?via%3Dihub
12. ↑ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/controversial-study-claims-apes-and-human-ancestors-split-southern-europe-180963426/
13. ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15120265/
14. ↑ https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.anthro.012809.105047
15. ↑ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajpa.1330370604
16. ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026240791731000X?via%3Dihub
17. ↑ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2132026-our-common-ancestor-with-chimps-may-be-from-europe-not-africa/
18. ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2193230/
19. ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8317563/