Sahelanthropus

Sahelanthropus is an extinct genus of late Miocene hominins from Chad, represented by the species Sahelanthropus tchadensis. Its fossils include a nearly complete cranium dated to about seven million years ago.

Toumaï: Toumaï is the nickname for the Sahelanthropus tchadensis cranium found in Chad in 2001. This nearly complete cranium is the genus’s best-known fossil and basis for much of its anatomy.
Hominin: A member of the evolutionary group comprising humans and extinct species more closely related to humans than to chimpanzees. Whether Sahelanthropus belongs in this group is central to its significance.
Miocene: A geological epoch lasting from about 23 to 5.3 million years ago. Sahelanthropus lived near the end of this epoch.
Orrorin: An extinct genus of late Miocene hominins known from fossils found in Kenya. Like Sahelanthropus, it is proposed as an early hominin, but its fossil record comes from a different region and anatomy.
Sahelanthropus postcranial remains: Fossil limb bones and other postcranial remains attributed to Sahelanthropus tchadensis. These remains, including a femur, bear on whether the species walked upright.
Hominin–chimpanzee last common ancestor: The ancestral population from which the human and chimpanzee lineages diverged. Sahelanthropus’s age places it near the estimated period of this lineage split.
Late Miocene: The final part of the Miocene epoch, approximately 11.6 to 5.3 million years ago. This interval frames the age of Sahelanthropus and its ecological setting.
Ardipithecus: An extinct genus of early hominins from eastern Africa, known from fossils dating roughly 5.8 to 4.4 million years ago. It provides a younger comparison for debates about early hominin locomotion and classification.
Djurab Desert: A desert region in northern Chad containing fossil localities of late Miocene vertebrates. The genus’s fossils were recovered at fossil sites in this region.
Bipedalism: Locomotion using two legs as the primary means of movement. The orientation of the skull and disputed leg-bone evidence inform claims of upright walking.

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