Egypt’s 18-million-year-old ape fossil challenges where apes began
Researchers describe 18-million-year-old fossils from northern Egypt—Masripithecus moghraensis—that may place the origins of all living apes in the Afro-Arabian region, not just East Africa. The fragmentary jaw and teeth place this species on the ancestral line leading to modern apes, a finding that prompts rethinking of early ape evolution, though scientists urge caution and more fossils to confirm the broader implications.