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Science 5 March 2004:
Vol. 303. no. 5663, pp. 1503 - 1505
DOI: 10.1126/science.1092978
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Reports

Late Miocene Teeth from Middle Awash, Ethiopia, and Early Hominid Dental Evolution

Yohannes Haile-Selassie,1* Gen Suwa,2 Tim D. White3

Late Miocene fossil hominid teeth recovered from Ethiopia's Middle Awash are assigned to Ardipithecus kadabba. Their primitive morphology and wear pattern demonstrate that A. kadabba is distinct from Ardipithecus ramidus. These fossils suggest that the last common ancestor of apes and humans had a functionally honing canine–third premolar complex. Comparison with teeth of Sahelanthropus and Orrorin, the two other named late Miocene hominid genera, implies that these putative taxa are very similar to A. kadabba. It is therefore premature to posit extensive late Miocene hominid diversity on the basis of currently available samples.

1 Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
2 The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-Ku, Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
3 Department of Integrative Biology and Laboratory for Human Evolutionary Studies, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: yhailese{at}cmnh.org

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