From Newsgroup: sci.anthropology.paleo


https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09714-4
New finds shed light on diet and locomotion in
Australopithecus deyiremeda


Abstract
The naming of Australopithecus deyiremeda1 from
Woranso-Mille (less than 3.59 to more than 3.33
million years) indicated the presence of a species
contemporaneous with Australopithecus afarensis in
the Ethiopian Afar Rift. A partial foot
(BRT-VP-2/73) and several isolated teeth from two
Burtele (BRT) localities, however, were not
identified to the species level. Recently recovered
dentognathic specimens clarify not only the
taxonomic affinity of the BRT hominin specimens but
also shed light on the diet and locomotion of
A. deyiremeda. Here we present a comparative
description of these specimens and show that they
are attributable to A. deyiremeda. We also find it
parsimonious to attribute the BRT foot to this
species based on the absence of other hominin
species at BRT. The new material demonstrates that
overall, A. deyiremeda was dentally and
postcranially more primitive than A. afarensis,
particularly in aspects of canine and premolar
morphology, and in its retention of pedal grasping
traits. Furthermore, the low and less variable
distributions of its dental enamel +|13C values are
similar to those from Ardipithecus ramidus and
Australopithecus anamensis, indicating a reliance
on C3 foods. This suggests that A. deyiremeda had
a dietary strategy similar to the earlier
A. ramidus and A. anamensis. The BRT foot and its
assignment to A. deyiremeda provides conclusive
evidence that arboreality was a significant
component of the positional behaviour of this
australopith, further corroborating that some
degree of arboreality persisted among Pliocene
hominins.

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