Myanmar fossil may shed light on evolution

By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer Michael Casey, Ap Environmental Writer – 1 hr 27 mins ago

BANGKOK, Thailand – Fossils recently discovered in Myanmar could prove that the common ancestors of humans, monkeys and apes evolved from primates in Asia, rather than Africa, researchers contend in a study released Wednesday.

However, other scientists said that the finding, while significant, won't end the debate over the origin of anthropoids — the primate grouping that includes ancient species as well as modern humans.

The pieces of 38 million-year-old jawbones and teeth found near Bagan in central Myanmar in 2005 show typical characteristics of primates, said Dr. Chris Beard, a paleontologist at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and a member of the team that found the fossils.

"When we found it, we knew we had a new type of primate and basically what kind of primate it was," Beard said in a telephone interview from Pittsburgh. "It turns out that jaws and teeth are very diagnostic. ... They are almost like fingerprints for fossils like this."

The findings were published in the Proceedings of The Royal Society B, a London-based peer-reviewed journal.

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This image, provided by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, is an artist's conception what they call a life reconstruction of Ganlea megacanina by Mark A. Klingler. Fossils recently discovered in Myanmar could prove that the common ancestors of humans, monkeys and apes evolved from primates in Asia, rather than Africa, researchers contend in a study released Wednesday,July 1. 2009. Fossils - which the scientists dubbed Ganlea megacanina - came from 10 to 15 individuals of a new species that belonged to an extinct family of Asian anthropoid primates known as Amphipithecidae.
(AP Photo/Carnegie Museum of Natural History/Mark A. Klingler)