81 Tuesday, May 26, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 'U' professors unveil alleged 'missing link' Ancient fossil offers alternative view of human origins By LARA ZADE Managing News Editor Two University professors were part of an anthropological dream team that recently unveiled a 47-million-year-old primate fossil that sheds new light on the origins of humans. Philip Gingerich, director of the University's Museum of Paleontol- ogy and B. Holly Smith, associate research scientist of the Univer- sity's Museum of Anthropology, contributed to the study of a new primate species, Darwinius masil- lae - dubbed Ida for short. Ida represents an arboreal quadruped that roamed the forests of Messel, Germany nearly 50 million years ago. The fossil is gaining attention because it's one of the most com- plete primate fossils ever recovered and represents an ancient primate group that researchers now believe monkeys and apes - and, subse- quently, humans later on - evolved from. "It was a real privilege to study, because I do have to say, I've never seen a fossil that has so much information out of it," Smith said. Smith added that the fossil was so well preserved that its stomach contents were still intact. Ida, is believed to have been a weaned, juvenile female who died before one year of age. She is a member of the adapoid primates, a group that was formerly thought to have contributed solely to modern- day lemurs and set aside from the lineage of monkeys and apes. But, Gingerich, Smith and the fourotherresearcherswhostudied the fossil concluded based on cer- tain morphological characteristics more similar to monkeys and apes than to lemurs that the adapoid group cannot be dismissed as an outlier in human evolution. "This animal has front teeth incisors like ours, like monkeys and apes and humans do," Gin- gerich said. "It doesn't have point- ed incisors like tarisers and not combed incisors like lemurs. It also has toes, and if it's a lemur it should have a grooming claw, but it doesn't." According to Gingerich, Ida was found 20 to 25 years ago when an amateur fossil hunter in Messel, Germany, walked through a rock pile and found a slab of rock and split it in half. One half exhibited an intact half of the fossil, while the other half suffered from numerous fractures, which its discoverer tried to hide. ing public relations contribu- The private collector then sold tions by fellow researcher Jorn H. the broken half about 10 years Hurum from the Natural History ago and kept the preserved half Museum at the University of Oslo. hidden. It wasn't until about two "I have to say Jorn is by far the years ago that the other half was best organizer I have ever seen," sold to the Natural History Muse- Gingerich said. "He organized the um of the University of Oslo and TV program that (came) out Mon- research began. day night, and the book that came The fossil was so remarkably out simultaneously with the press preserved because it was fossil- conference last Tuesday, and got ized in an environment that lacked all of the scientists to have their bacteria to decompose it. writing done, on the same day. Not Though Ida's remarkable cir- many people can do that." cumstances and preservation are Smith admittedthat she thought newsworthy, the attention the fos- History's claim about Ida's discov- sil has garnered thus far is unusu- ery is a "wild exaggeration," but al. On May 19, a press conference that its significance will overcome was held at the American Museum any outrageous generalizations. of Natural History in New York "Whether or not in the end City, while on the same day, a book people put (Ida) closer to the stem was released. In addition, the tele- of human ancestry matters less to vision channel History premiered me than that she's a good general a special titled "The Link" last idea of what that ancestor could night, vowing in its ads that Ida be like," Smith said. "It shows would "change history forever." you very much what our ances- Gingerich said he believes the tors would have been like at that popularity is due to the outstand- time." WANNA WRITE FOR THE DAILY? E-mail jamblock@umich.edu for details. SICK OF THE DORMS? CAN'T FIND A PLACE TO LIVE? Visit michigandaily.com/classifieds to see all of the great houses and apartments Ann Arbor has to offer on a convenient map! Also be sure to check out the Classified Pages for other great properties.