Ancient human species unearthed in Ethiopia

The remains were found in the Afar region of Ethiopia Credit: Dr Yohannes Haile-Selassie

A new species of ancient human that lived nearly four million years ago has been unearthed by a team of scientists in Ethiopia.

Upper and lower jaws bones and teeth discovered in the Afar region date from between 3.3 million and 3.5 million years old, the researchers said.

The new species has been called Australopithecus deyiremeda, which means "close relative."

The species lived alongside the famous 'Lucy' species, who lived from 2.9 million years ago to 3.8 million years ago.

However differences between the two species' teeth suggest the new species had a different diet to Lucy's.

A lower jaw Credit: Dr Yohannes Haile-Selassie

Dr Yohannes Haile-Selassie, lead author, said: "The new species is yet another confirmation that Lucy’s species, Australopithecus afarensis, was not the only potential human ancestor species that roamed in what is now the Afar region of Ethiopia during the middle Pliocene."

He said fossil evidence found in the area showed there were at least two, if not three, early human species living at the same time and in close geographic proximity.

Casts of the jaws of the new human ancestor species Credit: Laura Dempsey/Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Dr Yohannes Haile-Selassie added: “This new species from Ethiopia takes the ongoing debate on early hominin diversity to another level Some of our colleagues are going to be skeptical about this new species, which is not unusual.

"However, I think it is time that we look into the earlier phases of our evolution with an open mind and carefully examine the currently available fossil evidence rather than immediately dismissing the fossils that do not fit our long-held hypotheses."