Fossil Could be Common Ancestor of Humans, Other Primates

Here is very exciting news in the still-developing story of human evolution. From Science News Daily: "Scientists have found a 47-million-year-old human ancestor. Discovered in Messel Pit, Germany, the fossil, described as Darwinius masillae, is 20 times older than most fossils that explain human evolution.

"Known as 'Ida,' the fossil is a transitional species – it shows characteristics from the very primitive non-human evolutionary line (prosimians, such as lemurs), but is more related to the human evolutionary line (anthropoids, such as monkeys, apes and humans)." [Read the full story]

See also this title on our new book shelf:
99% ape : how evolution adds up / edited by Jonathan Silvertown ; authors, Caroline M. Pond ... [et al.].
Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2009.
QH367 .A13 2009.