Ardipithecus ramidus

People never knew about such a species till September 1994 and its discovery changed a lot of notions. It is the oldest known hominid species, dated at 4.4 million years. Most remains are skull fragments. Indirect evidence suggests that it was possibly bipedal, and that some individuals were about 122 cm (4'0") tall. The teeth are intermediate between those of earlier apes and A. afarensis, but one baby tooth is very primitive, resembling a chimpanzee tooth more than any other known hominid tooth.

Other fossils found with ramidus indicate that it may have been a forest dweller. This may cause modification of current theories about why hominids became bipedal, which often link bipedalism with a move to a Savannah environment.

"ARA-VP, Sites 1, 6 & 7"

It was discovered by a team led by Tim White, Berhane Asfaw and Gen Suwa (1994) in 1992 and 1993 at Aramis in Ethiopia. Its estimated age is 4.4 million years. The find consists of fossils from 17 individuals. Most of remains are teeth, but there is also a partial lower jaw of a child, a partial cranium base, and partial arm bone from 2 individuals.

ARA-VP-6/1 consists of 10 teeth from a single individual.

ARA-VP-7/2 consists of parts of all three bones from the left arm of a single individual, with a mixture of hominid and ape features.