Rudapithecus hungaricus, above, may be the ancestor of African great apes, including humans, but it lived in Europe. Artwork © John Gurche.

While the spotlight of the day might rest on the newly announced Miocene ape, Anoiapithecus brevirostris, another important early great ape is sitting in the shadows. It is Rudapithecus hungaricus, which, along with Dryopithecus and Anoiapithecus, is considered by some to be related to living great apes. Rudapithecus may be the closest we have yet come to finding the ancestor of African great apes and humans. All of these fossil apes were found in Europe.

Rudapithecus, nicknamed Gabi, was discovered through the work of National Geographic grantee David Begun of the University of Toronto and his collaborator at the Geological Institute in Budapest, László Kordos. The fossil is known from an almost complete skull and mandible (the only such set from a Miocene ape in Europe) and some skeletal parts, including a pelvis, two thigh bones, and wrist bones.

Begun has long championed the idea that the ancestors of African apes evolved in Eurasia. In his view, Anoiapithecus adds more evidence to support his hypothesis. Begun suggests, however, that Anoiapithecus is very similar to Dryopithecus, and may not deserve the status of a new genus. Furthermore, while Anoiapithecus, which is 12 million years old, is presented as ancestral to all great apes, Rudapithecus, which is 10 million years old, is ancestral only to a subfamily of great apes that excludes orangutans but includes humans. Thus Rudapithecus is key to the argument that the earliest members of the African great ape lineage we evolved from appeared first in Europe before returning to Africa.

Scientists who disagree with Begun discount the significance of the Miocene apes of Europe, including Rudapithecus, because they think African great apes evolved in Africa. Unfortunately, there is a gap in the fossil record in Africa between Miocene apes living there before 14 million years ago and the appearance of hominins in Africa between 7 and 5 million years ago. So there is little fossil evidence to support the view that great apes evolved from earlier African apes in Africa. To remedy this paleontologists are scouring Africa for fossil apes that lived there between 12 and 5 million years ago, when the lineages of gorillas, chimps, and humans diverged. And in Hungary, Begun and Kordos will keep searching for more remains of Rudapithecus, hoping they will provide further evidence for their "Out of Europe" hypothesis. They are confident that more of Gabi's skeleton remains buried at the site, which is near Rudabánya. National Geographic is funding their continued excavations there.

The fossil skull of the Rudapithecus specimen nicknamed Gabi (below) is remarkably well preserved and shares features with gorillas, such as short lower parts of the face. Photo © David Begun.

Comments