D I A G N O S T I C F E AT U R E S

postcranial
femur similar to A. afarensis femur head spherical & rotated anteriorly; femur neck elongated and oval in section; compared to modern humans, head small relative to shaft but proportionately larger than AL-288-1 (A. afarensis) morphology of proximal femur more human-like than australopithecines or African apes femur and humerus 1.5x larger than AL 288-1 (A. afarensis) humerus w/ vertical brachiordialis crest proximal manual phalanx curved similar to extant climbing primates & A. afarensis

dentition
dentition small relative to body size molars smaller than australopithecines', closer in size to Ardipithecus anterior teeth less hominid-like and more ape-like similar morphology to female chimp thick molar enamel jugal teeth smaller than australopithecines upper central incisor large & robust, not shovel-shaped smaller than australopithecines but similar to Ardipithecus upper canine short w/ shallow, narrow vertical mesial groove (common in Miocene & African apes but unlike australopithecines or Ardipithecus) corpus mandibularis has great depth (archaic feature in hominids) buccal notch well-developed no cingulum on molars

Orrorin tugenensis
Timespan: Region: Specimens: Discovered: 6.2 5.8 mya East Africa (Kenya) 13 specimens, >5 individuals Senut 2001 Holotype: Lineage: Environment: Diet: BAR 1000'00 Unknown Open woodland Unknown

Speculation/theories:
Claim as earliest evidence for bipedalism Claim more humanlike than australopithecines, may be direct ancestor of Homo w/ australopithecines only a side-branch Upper-limb morhology suggests adaptation to climb but lower limb morphology suggest bipedalism; adapted to both body size likely equivalent to female chimp; disproving notion earliest hominids small

KEY SPECIMENS
BAR 1000'00 + Millenium Man: left femur, pieces of jaw w/ teeth, arm bones, finger BAR 1000'00: fragmentary mandible BAR 1000'a'00: fragment of left mandible w/ M3 BAR 1000'b'00: fragment of right mandible w/M2-3 BAR 1002'00 (young adult) femur: femoral head, neck, and 2/3 of shaft

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Galik, K. et al (2004) External and Internal Morphology of the BAR 1002'00 Orrorin tugenensis Femur, Science Pickford, M.& B. Senut (2001) 'Millennium Ancestor', a 6-million-year-old bipedal hominid from Kenya - Recent discoveries push back human origins by 1.5 million years, South African Journal of Science 97: 22-22. Pickford, M. et al (2002) Bipedalism in Orrorin tugenensis revealed by its femora, Comptes Rendus Palevol 1: 191-203. Richmond, B.G. & W. L. Jungers (2008) Orrorin tugenensis femoral morphology and evolution of hominin bipedalism, Science 319: 1662-1665. Senut, B. et al (2001) First hominid from the Miocene (Lukeino Formation, Kenya), Comptes Rendus de l'Acadmie des Sciences 332: 137-144 Thorpe, S.K.S. et al (2007) Origin of human bipedalism as an adaptation for locomotion on flexible branches. Science 316: 1328-1331.

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MAJOR SITES

4 sites in Lukeino Formation, Tugen Hills, Baringo District Kenya: