A newly discovered fossil ape from northern Egypt, named Masripithecus moghraensis, dates to 17-18 million years ago and may be closely related to the ancestors of modern apes. Researchers argue this finding shifts the focus from East Africa to northern Africa for early ape evolution. The species provides key insights into hominoid diversity during a period of continental connections.
Researchers have identified a new fossil ape species, Masripithecus moghraensis, unearthed in the Wadi Moghra region of northern Egypt. Dated to around 17-18 million years ago, the specimen offers fresh evidence on the origins of modern apes, including humans. Shorouq Al-Ashqar and colleagues describe it as a stem hominoid closely linked to the lineage leading to all living apes, according to their analysis published in Science this year (DOI: 10.1126/science.adz4102). Using a Bayesian tip-dating method, which integrates anatomical traits with fossil ages, the team positioned Masripithecus near the base of crown-hominoid evolution. Early apes, or stem hominoids, emerged in Afro-Arabia over 25 million years ago during the Oligocene. By the Miocene, around 14-16 million years ago, some spread into Eurasia as land connections formed. However, fossil gaps, especially in Africa's vast unexplored areas, have left the precise origins of modern apes unclear. This discovery highlights ape diversity when Afro-Arabia linked to Eurasia, suggesting modern apes may have arisen in northern Afro-Arabia, the Levant, or the eastern Mediterranean. David Alba and Júlia Arias-Martorell noted in a related perspective: “[The] findings […] confirm that paleontologists might have been looking for crown-hominoid ancestors in the wrong place.” The find challenges the traditional emphasis on East African sites, urging broader searches across northern Africa and adjacent regions.