Sahelanthropus
| Sahelanthropus tchadensis "Toumaï" Temporal range: Messinian,
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|---|---|
| Cast of the skull of Toumaï | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Family: | Hominidae |
| Genus: | †Sahelanthropus Brunet et al., 2002 |
| Species: | †S. tchadensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Sahelanthropus tchadensis Brunet et al., 2002
| |
Sahelanthropus is an extinct genus of hominid dated to about 7 million years ago during the Late Miocene. The type species, Sahelanthropus tchadensis, was first announced in 2002, based mainly on a partial cranium, nicknamed Toumaï, discovered in northern Chad.
The definitive phylogenetic position of Sahelanthropus within hominids is uncertain. It was initially described as a possible hominin ancestral to both humans and chimpanzees, but subsequent interpretations suggest that it could be an early member of the tribe Gorillini or a stem-hominid outside the hominins. The supposed bipedality based on the postcranial skeleton of Sahelanthropus has also been a subject of debate among paleoanthropologists.