Discovery of 18-Million-Year-Old 'Masripithecus' in Egypt Reframes the Geographic Origins of Modern Apes

The discovery of Masripithecus moghraensis in Egypt suggests North Africa and the Middle East were the true centers of early ape and human evolution.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 27, 2026, 7:53 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center (MUVP)

The "Missing Piece" of the Hominoid Family Tree

A study published in Science has unveiled Masripithecus moghraensis, a newly discovered fossil ape that lived during the Early Miocene in what is now northern Egypt. Recovered from the Wadi Moghra fossil site, the remains represent a landmark find: the first definitive evidence of apes in North Africa from this era. For decades, the fossil record for early apes was heavily concentrated in East Africa, leading to a long-standing scientific consensus that the lineage of "crown hominoids" (the group containing humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons) originated in the south. Professor Hesham Sallam of Mansoura University, who led the five-year search, suggests that this discovery fills a critical geographic gap that previously obscured the true center of ape evolution.

Anatomical Adaptations for a Changing Climate

The fossil material, primarily consisting of a robust lower jaw, reveals a unique dental toolkit that distinguishes Masripithecus from its East African contemporaries. The specimen features exceptionally large canines and premolars, paired with molars that have rounded, heavily textured chewing surfaces. Researchers interpret this anatomy as evidence of a highly versatile diet. While primarily fruit-eating, Masripithecus possessed the jaw strength to process harder fallback foods like nuts and seeds. This dietary flexibility was likely a survival strategy triggered by the increasing seasonality and climatic shifts occurring in North Africa and Arabia 18 million years ago.

Challenging the East African Origin Hypothesis

The research team employed sophisticated Bayesian phylogenetic analysis, integrating anatomical data from extinct species with DNA from living apes. The results placed Masripithecus in a pivotal position: it is more closely related to modern "crown" apes than any other known species from the Early Miocene of East Africa. This finding has led co-author Erik Seiffert of the University of Southern California to reconsider the traditional "East Africa-centric" model. The data now strongly suggests that the common ancestor of all living apes likely resided in the Afro-Arabian region, making North Africa and the Middle East the probable staging ground for the diversification of the hominoid lineage.