investigator studying fossils unveil in the outskirts of Nairobi reveal that they belonged to the same specie asLucy , Australopithecus afarensis . This is the first time a fogey from this extinct genus was find east of the Rift Valley , suggesting that the range of ourAustralopithecusancestors was much bigger than we thought . The findings are published in the May issue ofJournal of Human Evolution .
A. afarensisis known from East African sites dating back between 3.7 and 3 million years . They lived in a extensive spectrum of habitats from northern Ethiopia to northerly Tanzania , including woodlands at Laetoli , assorted woodland and shrubland at Hadar , and floodplain grassland at Maka . Now , according to a team run byMount Kenya University ’s Emma Mbua andMasato Nakatsukasaof Kyoto University , A. afarensisalso hold up much farther east in the highlands of Kenya – at what they ’ve now name the Kantis Fossil Site .
Located on the easterly shoulder of the Gregory Rift Valley , the Kantis bone bottom was mention during a geologic survey in 1991 . However , no research had been conducted until 2009 , when the owner of a farm next to the small , seasonal Kantis river reported the site to researchers . The farm owner ’s family had figure fossilised clappers on the dry Kantis valley back in the seventies .
In the last few year , the team has collect 1,200 fogy elements from the Kantis Fossil Site belong to 28 animate being mathematical group and one human ascendent . They ’ve identified a fewA. afarensisteeth and one forearm defend two juveniles and an adult . Based on the size and ontogeny of muscle fond regard marks , the left ulna ( KNM - RK 53525 , pictured above ) in all likelihood came from an adult male person . " This has important implications for what we translate about our ancestor ’s statistical distribution range , " Nakatsukasa say in astatement , " namely thatAustralopithecuscould have covered a much corking arena by this eld . "
The team also identified the corpse of fossil hippos , rhinoceros , horse , Giraffa camelopardalis , elephants , and cats . The typography of the Kantis animate being , combine with stable carbon isotopic data , suggest that this land site 3.5 million years ago was like that of otherA. afarensissites on the Rift Valley floor , but more open . It was mostly grassland with a repeated body of water and few trees .
