News Paleontology

Early apes may not have evolved in East Africa

A fossil jawbone suggests apes may have emerged in Africa's north

An illustration of an ape looking straight out with a dense background of trees.

Masripithecus moghraensis (illustrated here) lived in Egypt around 17 million years ago. The ancient primate’s discovery is a new wrinkle in the evolutionary story of apes.

Mauricio Antón

By Jake Buehler

Modern apes may have swung into existence in North Africa or the Middle East.

New fossil findings — published March 26 in Science — unveil Masripithecus, a roughly 17-million-year-old early ape that lived in what is now Egypt.