The Human-Chimp Split: A Closer Look at the Fossil Record

The Human-Chimp Split: A Closer Look at the Fossil Record
California Academy of Sciences - California Academy of Sciences
Recent advances in molecular genetics are radically changing ideas about the appearance of primates and the subsequent branching off of the major lineages. Previously, it was thought primates first appeared some 65 million years ago; now experts are proposing dates as far back as 80-90 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.The hazy image of our lineage provided by the fossil record is now coming into focus thanks to new molecular analytical techniques; researchers now have whole genome sequences representing at least one member of each major lineages and whole mitochondrial lineages of nearly every genus in the order Primates.