Overview
- Researchers led by Zeresenay Alemseged describe MLP-3000 from Mille-Logya, a partial lower jaw with tooth roots and a molar crown analyzed with micro-CT.
- Magnetostratigraphy places the fossil between about 2.9 and 2.5 million years ago, making it roughly 2.6 million years old and among the earliest Paranthropus remains.
- The find is the first Paranthropus documented in the Afar and expands the genus’ known northern range by more than 1,000 kilometers beyond previous records.
- The mandible shows hallmark robust-chewing features alongside more primitive traits, prompting a conservative assignment to Paranthropus sp. rather than a specific species.
- Its presence in the Afar indicates local Late Pliocene coexistence with early Homo and Australopithecus and supports the view that prior absence reflected sampling gaps.