Ancient skull belonged to a cousin of the ape common ancestor (New Scientist)
A newly discovered fossil ape skull is providing clues about the common ancestor of all living apes, including our own species. The fossil – small enough to fit comfortably in one hand – belongs to an infant, and is the most complete extinct ape skull in the fossil record so far.
We now know a large amount about the evolution of the human line since it split from the chimp lineage about 7 million years ago, but the earlier stages of ape evolution – particularly the split between all living apes – are still hazy. The fossil skull throws light on that period of ape evolution.