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Ardipithecus kadabba is a fossil hominoid, described by its discoverers as a very early hominin genus. Two species have been identified: Ardipithecus ramidus, which lived about 4.4 million years ago during the early Pliocene, and A. kadabba, dated to approximately 5.6 million years ago during the late Miocene [White, Tim D. et al. 2009].

	ARDIPITHECUS KADABBA


ARDIPITHECUS KADABBA



Genus:		Ardipithecus

Species:		Ardipithecus kadabba

Time Period:		5.6 million years ago

Characteristics:		Basal Ancestor

Fossil Evidence:		Teeth, Skeletal Bones, Ethiopia, Africa

Bradshaw Foundation

ARDIPITHECUS KADABBA

Ardipithecus kadabba is known only from teeth and fragments of skeletal bones [Gibbons, Ann 2009] and is dated to approximately 5.6 million years ago. It has been described as a probable ancestor of Ardipithecus ramidus. Although originally considered a subspecies of Ardipithecus ramidus, in 2004 anthropologists Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Gen Suwa and Tim White [2004] published an article elevating Ardipithecus kadabba to species level on the basis of newly-discovered teeth from Ethiopia. These teeth show primitive morphology and wear pattern which demonstrate that Ardipithecus kadabba is a distinct species from Ardipithecus ramidus.

The specific name comes from the Afar word for 'basal family ancestor'.