Rethinking Ape Evolution: Wooded Grasslands in Africa 21 Million Years Ago.
New research challenges the traditional narrative that the evolution of apes and humans was driven by the expansion of grasslands in Africa. A multidisciplinary team of scientists has found evidence that the earliest known ape with upright locomotion, Morotopithecus, consumed leaves and inhabited an open woodland with grassy areas. The team discovered that wooded grasslands existed in Africa 21 million years ago, much earlier than previously thought, and that the ecological signal measured at Moroto was part of a broader pattern in eastern Africa during this time. The findings call for a reassessment of the evolution of apes, humans, and other African mammals.
