New human species: Australopithecus sediba

William Atkins
Monday, 12 April 2010 23:20

Science - Health

A boy and his father were out walking around north of Johannesburg, South Africa. Luckily, the father was a paleoanthropologist and he knew the remains found by his son could be a major archeological discovery. It was! A new hominid species called Australopithecus sediba.

The bones of a four-foot, two-inch hominid boy were initially found by U.S. paleoanthropologist Lee R. Berger and his son Matthew.

Dr. Berger commented on his first reaction to his son's discovery within the April 8, 2010 The New York Times article 'New Hominid Species Discovered in South Africa.'

Berger declared, 'I couldn't believe it. I took the rock, and I turned it '¦ sticking out of the back of the rock was a mandible with a tooth, a canine, sticking out. And I almost died'¦. What are the odds?'

Dr. Berger is associated with the Institute for Human Evolution and the Public Understanding of Science at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

After the initial discover, Berger and fellow collaborators have found more bones of the boy, including a well-preserved skull, along with the bones of three other hominids.

The fossilized bones were found encased in deposits at the Malapa cave in South Africa. Malapa is located about 28 miles (45 kilometers) north-northwest of the city of Johannesburg in South Africa. It is situated with the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, at Gauteng, South Africa.

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