Ethiopian fossils reveal new species in human evolutionary lineage


Scientists hold fossilized hominin teeth discovered in the Ledi-Geraru paleoanthropological research area in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, in this undated handout picture released on August 13, 2025. Amy Rector, Virginia Commonwealth University/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) -Researchers have unearthed tooth fossils in Ethiopia dating to about 2.65 million years ago of a previously unknown species in the human evolutionary lineage, one that lived in the same time and place as the earliest-known member of the genus Homo to which our own species belongs.

The scientists discovered in the Ledi-Geraru research project area of northeastern Ethiopia's Afar Region 10 teeth - six molars, two incisors, one premolar and one canine - that they concluded belonged to a new Australopithecus species. The teeth came from two individuals.

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