Hominid origin and evolution: Toumai enlightens Darwin's prediction

The earliest known hominid Sahelanthropus tchadensis Brunet et al., 2002, nicknamed Toumai, from the Late Miocene (7 Ma) of Chad, displays a unique combination of primitive and derived characters which clearly shows that it is probably temporally close to the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans. The Late Miocene Hominids: Sahelanthropus (Chad), Orrorin (Kenya), Ardipithecus (Ethiopia) are probably the ancestral group of Australopithecins from which the genus Homo appears between 2 and 3 Ma and then for the first time widespread in Eurasia. So, Toumai seven millions years old confirms in a spectacular way the prediction Charles Darwin made in 1871. To cite this article: M. Brunet, C. R. Palevol 8 (2009). (C) 2008 Academie des sciences. Publie par Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits reserves.