Australopithecus anamensis

This species was only named in August 1995. The material consists of 9 fossils, mostly found in 1994, from Kanapoi in Kenya, and 12 fossils, mostly teeth found in 1988, from Allia Bay in Kenya (Leakey et al. 1995).

Anamensis existed between 4.2 and 3.9 million years ago, and has a mixture of primitive features in the skull, and advanced features in the body. The teeth and jaws are very similar to those of older fossil apes. A partial tibia (the larger of the two lower leg bones) is strong evidence of bipedality, and a lower humerus (the upper arm bone) is extremely humanlike. Note that although the skull and skeletal bones are thought to be from the same species, this is not confirmed.

Fossils found:

East African Rift Valley (Lake Turkana).

Found by Maeve Leakey in 1995. Anamensis means "lake" in a local Turkana language. Twenty-one specimens. Confirmed bipedalism. Specimens show a blending of primitive (large, ape-like canines) and advanced features (bipedalism and thick enamel). Cranium is still very small and chimp-like.

KP 271, "Kanapoi Hominid", Australopithecus anamensis

Discovered by Bryan Patterson in 1965 at Kanapoi in Kenya (Patterson and Howells 1967). This is a lower left humerus, which is about 4.0 million years old. (Creationist arguments)KP 29281, Australopithecus anamensis Discovered by Peter Nzube in 1994 at Kanapoi in Kenya (Leakey et al. 1995). This is a lower jaw with all its teeth, which is about 4.0 million years old.

KP 29285, Australopithecus anamensis

Discovered by Kamoya Kimeu in 1994 at Kanapoi in Kenya. This is a tibia, missing the middle portion of the bone, which is about 4.1 million years old. It is the oldest known evidence for hominid bipedalism.