12 million-year-old ape fossil with straight legs could be missing link between primates and humans

A 'missing link' between humans and our ape-like ancestors that lived around 12 million years ago has been unearthed in Bavaria, Germany. According to researchers, the bizarre creature had arms suited to hanging in trees but legs like ours — making it like an 'ape and human in one' The discovery provides the first image of what the last common ancestor of apes and humans looked like — with fossils from this period being rare The adult male's skeleton was so complete that the researchers were able to describe its limbs and body proportions in detail. Named Danuvius guggenmosi after a Celtic river god, the find of the broad-chested primate also pushes back the timeline for when walking on two feet began Based on the shape of Danuvius' bones, experts have concluded that the animal moved around in a unique way, dubbed 'extended limb clambering'. It was astonishing for us to realise how similar certain bones are to humans, as opposed to great apes,' said paper author and palaeontologist Madelaine Boehme of the University of Tübingen in Germany 'The emerging picture of its locomotion is different from any known living creature,' added Professor Boehme. The bones came from at least four individuals — a male, two females and a juvenile — and included not only teeth but also parts of the skull, jaw, rib cage and spine, along with arm, leg, finger and feet bones Danuvius would have had a powerful grasp and flat, human-like feet for walking.