人类起源研究所Naomi E. Levin研究团队取得一项新突破。他们报道了新研究揭示了南方古猿的饮食和运动。相关论文发表在2025年11月26日出版的《自然》杂志上。

在这里，课题组人员提出了这些标本的比较描述，并表明它们属于A. deyiremeda。课题组还发现，由于BRT没有其他人族物种，因此将BRT足归因于该物种是简单的。新材料表明，总体而言，A. deyiremeda在牙齿和颅骨上比阿法南猿更原始，特别是在犬齿和前磨牙形态方面，以及在其保留的抓脚特征方面。

此外，其牙釉质δ¹³C值较低且变化较小的分布与Ardipithecthem ramidthem和Athemtralopithecthem anamensis相似，表明其对C₃食物的依赖。这表明A. deyiremeda的饮食策略与早期的A. ramidthem和A. anamensis相似。BRT足及其对A. deyiremeda的归属提供了确凿的证据，证明树栖性是该猿类定位行为的重要组成部分，进一步证实了上新世人族中存在一定程度的树栖性。

据悉，Athemtralopithecthem的命名源自Woranso-Mille（小于359万年至超过333万年），表明在埃塞俄比亚阿法尔裂谷存在与Athemtralopithecthem afarensis同时期的一种。然而，在两个Burtele （BRT）地区发现的部分足（BRT- vp -2/73）和几个分离的牙齿未被鉴定到物种水平。最近发现的牙齿标本不仅阐明了BRT古人类标本的分类亲和性，而且还揭示了拟南猿的饮食和运动。

附：英文原文

Title: New finds shed light on diet and locomotion in Australopithecus deyiremeda

Author: Haile-Selassie, Yohannes, Schwartz, Gary T., Prang, Thomas C., Saylor, Beverly Z., Deino, Alan, Gibert, Luis, Ragni, Anna, Levin, Naomi E.

Issue&Volume: 2025-11-26

Abstract: The naming of Australopithecus deyiremeda1 from Woranso-Mille (less than 3.59 to more than 3.33 million years) indicated the presence of a species contemporaneous with Australopithecus afarensis in the Ethiopian Afar Rift. A partial foot (BRT-VP-2/73)2 and several isolated teeth from two Burtele (BRT) localities, however, were not identified to the species level. Recently recovered dentognathic specimens clarify not only the taxonomic affinity of the BRT hominin specimens but also shed light on the diet and locomotion of A. deyiremeda. Here we present a comparative description of these specimens and show that they are attributable to A. deyiremeda. We also find it parsimonious to attribute the BRT foot to this species based on the absence of other hominin species at BRT. The new material demonstrates that overall, A. deyiremeda was dentally and postcranially more primitive than A. afarensis, particularly in aspects of canine and premolar morphology, and in its retention of pedal grasping traits. Furthermore, the low and less variable distributions of its dental enamel δ13C values are similar to those from Ardipithecus ramidus and Australopithecus anamensis, indicating a reliance on C3 foods. This suggests that A. deyiremeda had a dietary strategy similar to the earlier A. ramidus and A. anamensis. The BRT foot and its assignment to A. deyiremeda provides conclusive evidence that arboreality was a significant component of the positional behaviour of this australopith, further corroborating that some degree of arboreality persisted among Pliocene hominins1,3,4,5,6,7.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09714-4

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09714-4