The first fossil found was dated to 4.4 million years ago on the basis of its stratigraphic position between two volcanic strata: the basal Gaala Tuff Complex (G.A.T.C.) Ardipithecus. A partial skeleton of a female, known as "Ardi", combines human and other primate traits. The digitally reconstructed cranium of Ardi, a female of the species Ardipithecus ramidus, is displayed along with the creature's hand bones and an artist's conception of what Ardi would have looked like. The foot bones in this skeleton indicate a divergent large toe combined with a rigid foot – it's still unclear what this means concerning bipedal behavior. Published: 2009-10-12 : (Rev. Unlike other diagnosed fossils, Ardi’s skull was resting atop her spinal column, so she was believed to be bipedal when walking on the ground but quadruped while on trees, with her big toe splaying out from her foot for a comfortable grasping of trees. ramidus and Ar. Discovery of Ardi a relatively complete Ardipithecus ramidus fossil skeleton sheds light on human evolution. Its discovery, along with Miocene apes, has reworked academic understanding of the chimpanzee-human last common ancestorfrom appearin… The enamel on the teeth was neither thin nor thick, so it was thought they survived on meat, fruit, and plants. In their investigations into this particular fossilized skeleton discovery a team of researchers have have painstakingly pieced together some 125 fragments of bone - including much of the skull, hands, feet, arms, legs and pelvis. The cranial base of Ardi is short from the front to the back, which proves the head rested on top of the spine. The fossil (Ardi or Ara-VP-6/500 as its holotype) consists of 125 pieces was an incomplete skeleton found in 1994, although the jaw and teeth were discovered in 1992. Matternes. List skeletal features that suggest A. ramidus was also spending some time in the trees (or are just primitive retentions). Lucy, meet Ardi. The pithecus portion of the name is from the Greek word for "ape". The individual is believed to be a female and is nicknamed ‘Ardi’. Tim White's research team discovered the first Ardipithecus ramidus fossils in 1992 in the Afar Depression in the Middle Awash river valley of Ethiopia. Materials presented are in no way meant to be a substitute for professional medical care by a qualified practitioner, nor should they be construed as such. It is the most complete early hominid specimen, with most of the skull, teeth, pelvis, hands and feet, more complete than the previously known Australopithecus afarensis specimen called "Lucy." Gen Suwa of the University of Tokyo led the reconstruction of the cranium from micro-CT scans of the bones, while artist Jay … Reconstructed frontal view of the skeleton of “Ardi,” a specimen belonging to the early hominid species Ardipithecus ramidus. The first skeleton found of Ardipithecus ramidus was discovered in a plain in Ethiopia known as the Afar Rift, more specifically a valley located there. On October 1, 2009, paleontologists announced the discovery of a relatively complete Ardipithecus ramidus fossil skeleton. The 4.4 million-year-old hominin partial skeleton attributed to Ardipithecus ramidus preserves a foot that purportedly shares morphometric affinities with monkeys, but this interpretation remains controversial. The pelvis, reconstructed from a crushed specimen, is said to show adaptations that combine tree-climbing and bipedal activity. A skeleton believed to be the fossil of the human oldest ancestor that lived 4.4 million years was discovered by a group of paleoanthropologists led by an American anthropologist, Tim D. White, in 1994. She weighed 51 kg, and her height was estimated to be about 117 to 124 cm. The anatomy of Ar. Unlike modern humans, she had a prognathous face, the tarsal and tibial lengths show a leaping ability that lacks vertical climbing or knuckles walking. Ardipithecus ramidus is a species of australopithecine from the Afar region of Early Pliocene Ethiopia 4.4 million years ago (mya). The fossil sheds light on a previously poorly-known stage of human evolution more than a million years before Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis), the iconic early human ancestor who lived 3.2 million years ago, and which was discovered in 1974 just 46 mi (74 km) away from Ardi's discovery site. (6) List features present in the skeleton of “Ardi” (Ardipithecus ramidus) that relate to bipedalism. The name Ardipithecus ramidus stems mostly from the Afar language, in which Ardi means "ground/floor" and ramid means "root". Ardipithecus lived between 5.8 million and 4.4 million years ago, from late in the Miocene Epoch (23 million to 5.3 million years ago) to the early to middle Pliocene Epoch (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago). Ardipithecus ramidus. I write on History Category at 54history.com, Oldest Skeleton Of A Human Ancestor, Ardipithecus Ramidus, Found In Ethiopia, Ardipithecus Ramidus - image credit: google.com. Like Lucy, Ardi was a hominid. However, due to the specimen’s terrible condition, excavating and researching the structure took 15 years before the fossil was described and published in 2009. Ardipithecus has been known about since 1992, but as recently as Spring, 2009 I was unable to find information on cranial capacity and or bipedalism. 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