CRI听力:New Fossils Found Indicates New Humankind Member

Scientists say they may have discovered new fossil evidence suggesting the existence of a previously unknown species of ancient human.

The fossils, including part of a jaw and teeth, have been discovered in Ethiopia.

Paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie says they're working under the assumption this species of human may have lived alongside the famous human ancestor "Lucy."

"What we are announcing today is a new species of early human ancestor, which is about between 3.3 and 3.5 million years old. This is a species that we found from the Afar region of Ethiopia from a place called Woranzo Mille and we have been conducting research at this site for the last four years."

The new species, Australopithecus deyiremeda, is said to have a combination of ape-like and human-like traits, as did Lucy's species, Australopithecus afarensis.
However, researchers say they believe the bone structures are sufficiently different to classify the new find as a separate species.

Scientists say it is possible the two species may have had different diets, meaning they didn't have to compete for the same resources.

Researchers have theorized that our species, Homo sapiens, who began appearing some 200-thousand years, could be the natural evolution of cross-breeding among different members of our genus.