New Extinct Chimpanzee Species Discovered
The chimpanzee lineage is made up of two well-known species, which is why the discovery of a new strain would be absolutely groundbreaking news. We are referring to an extinct chimpanzee species that would share the genus Pan with the other two chimpanzee species we know: the common chimpanzee and the pygmy or bonobo chimpanzee.
A new species of extinct chimpanzee
The recently discovered species appears to have lived with its two primate relatives for thousands of years. Although it has not survived to the present time, this chimpanzee has recently come to us thanks to the bonobo genome.
Recovering the remains of ancient animals originating from the areas of Congo is a difficult task due to the acidity of the soil of that area, unable to preserve the organic matter of the corpses that are deposited there. For this reason and for the absence of fossils, we know very little about the biodiversity that reigned in those lands.
In the case of the recent discovery, it was necessary to analyze a genome sequence of common chimpanzees and bonobos, which brought to light what appears to be an extinct species not so dissimilar to them.
The study has revealed cases of crosses between the two species known to all; however, small percentages of DNA belonging to an unknown lineage have been found in the bonobo’s genome : a new species of chimpanzee.
The species would have interbred with bonobos more than 400,000,000 years ago, when the great apes shared the territories around the Congo River together.
One of the most curious aspects of the study published in Nature , is undoubtedly the fact that the bonobos still keep traces of the DNA of this extinct species; this suggests that it was a great advantage for them.
DNA residues
The story is similar to that which links the modern human being to other hominids: in the DNA of Homo sapiens there are still traces of the Neanderthal man, who lived with our species and was closely linked to it.
In fact, the researchers believe that the passage of DNA may have given modern humans an immune advantage, just as would have been the one inherited from bonobos.
Precisely for this reason it is reasonable to think that other primates could have had congeners that have never reached our days. In the case of man, it is certainly easier to demonstrate the presence of other species as they were widespread in a variety of ecosystems, many of which are perfectly capable of preserving fossil remains up to the present day.
We cannot forget that with the discovery of a new species of chimpanzee, more light is being shed on some of our closest relatives, which is fundamental to being able to better understand our own species.
