Blasted Scientists

Honestly scientists. This is getting a tad tedious. Another transitional fossil? And this time it falls into the chain of human evolution:

Because the 4.2-million-year-old fossil is from the same human ancestral hot spot in Ethiopia as remains from seven other human-like species, scientists can now fill in the gaps for the most complete evolutionary chain so far.

"We just found the chain of evolution, the continuity through time," said Ethiopian anthropologist Berhane Asfaw, co-author of the study being reported Thursday in the journal Nature. "One form evolved to another. This is evidence of evolution in one place through time."

The species, Australopithecus anamensis is not new, but its location is what helps explain the giant leap from one early phase of human-like development to the next, scientists say. All eight species were found in a region called the Middle Awash.

An amazing find. It's bloody hard work finding fossils. I blame the stupid pre-historic carnivores eating all the evidence. The Earth's unpredictable geological nature and immense age don't help much either in the way of preserving fossils. Hmmm, finding fossils would be much easier if the Earth was only, say, six thousand years old.