Paleo-environment with Ardipithecus ramidus

The African tropical forest is the ecosystem where the anthropomorphic monkeys had its evolutionary origin. The great diversity of ecological niches in these forests promoted the diversification of primate species during the Miocene.

A climate change in the second half of this period led to the formation of clearings in the dense forests located close to the water. Then, 4.5 million years ago, certain animals that were capable of living in this new environment emerged, combining quadruped locomotion in trees with the occasional exploration of the ground, for which they developed an important evolutionary novelty: the bipedalism. They are the first representatives of the hominines : the Ardipithecus gender.

The illustration, made by Mauricio Antón, is based on the deposit of Aramis in Ethiopia and it recreates the environment of the closed forest in which Ardipithecus ramidus lived.