The lemon-sized fossil skull of an infant ape nicknamed Alesi that inhabited a Kenyan forest about 13 million years ago is offering a peek at what the long-ago common ancestor of people and all modern apes may have looked like. Scientists on Wednesday announced the discovery of the most complete extinct ape skull fossil ever found, allowing them to study such characteristics as its brain cavity, inner-ear structure and unerupted adult teeth beneath the roots of its baby teeth. With its small snout, the skull resembles that of a gibbon, a small ape found in Asia. Alesi, the skull of the new extinct ape species Nyanzapithecus alesi. Alesi's teeth and fully developed bony ear tubes showed its kinship to modern apes.

Source: CBC News August 09, 2017 18:22 UTC