Confirmed; multiple species 3.4 to 4 million years ago

[EverCurious]

“The new species is yet another confirmation that Lucy’s species, Australopithecus afarensis, was not the only potential human ancestor species that roamed in what is now the Afar region of Ethiopia during the middle Pliocene,” said lead author and Woranso-Mille project team leader Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie. “Current fossil evidence from the Woranso-Mille study area clearly shows that there were at least two, if not three, early human species living at the same time and in close geographic proximity.

~ Australopithecus deyiremeda Cleveland Museum of Natural History

I wonder if they interacted, possibly even interbred. A very exciting find for sure.

Also: The species will be described in the May 28, 2015 issue of the international scientific journal Nature.

 

[TheOldSchool]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

 

[PaintMyHouse]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with To Serve Man, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

 

[Mr. H.]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with How to Serve Humans, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

Did some kid take over your username? I mean, why did you go from fucked to funny?

 

[PaintMyHouse]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with How to Serve Humans, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

Did some kid take over your username? I mean, why did you go from fucked to funny?

Fucked?? And I do have a sense of humor. I laugh at the little morons here day in and day out, when I'm not digging mass graves for them that is.

 

[Mr. H.]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with How to Serve Humans, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

Did some kid take over your username? I mean, why did you go from fucked to funny?

Fucked?? And I do have a sense of humor. I laugh at you little morons day in and day out, when I'm not digging mass graves for you that is.

Yes, fucked. As "in the head". You're a typical delusional liberal who suddenly got the Jesus of humor.

This shit just don't add up.

You stink like sock shit.

 

[hortysir]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with To Serve Man, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

Do I have to stand still?

 

[PaintMyHouse]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with To Serve Man, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

Do I have to stand still?

They prefer it when you run, it's more fun to chase their prey, it works up an appetite.

 

[EverCurious]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

mmm yes, mammals rose up best we can tell, more adaptable and better suited to the "new" earth... It's certainly possible there were highly intelligent creatures that were wiped out, though I think they would have had to have been more localized, not a global phenomenon like humans are today, else I'd figure we'd have found at least some evidence of them somewhere. Localized species who were highly specialized could have easily been wiped out by minor climate changes or even a local volcano though, and we just haven't happened to dig there yet...

Of course I do often wonder if we're wrong on the "best" measure of intelligence - I think perhaps social structure might be a better measure... When one looks at modern dinosaur decedents like Ravens it's almost creepy how "smart" they are; they recognize faces and warn their murder (flock) of /known/ bad people while generally ignoring the harmless ones - and they "teach" their chicks those "bad" faces as well. There are quite a few birds that use tools and also birds who have their own languages beyond mere "instinctual" calls (some birds are even bilingual with other species.) How much of that can we write off to "instinct" alone before we recognize that our idea of "intelligence" may be too narrow minded and "human ideals" focused?

In addition, we humans tend to need "material" things to survive; shelter, tools, etc. which we can find, but what about a creature adapted to it's environment with teeth, nails, poison, etc.? It doesn't necessarily need those "findable" things so there would be no real record of their "intelligence" there - for example, we wouldn't even know of the modern birds who use tools if we hadn't witnessed it personally, after all a stick or a rock, is just a stick or a rock when we find it...

 

[DarkFury]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with To Serve Man, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

I thought that was a Twilight Zone show. But yeah I remember.

 

[PaintMyHouse]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with To Serve Man, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

I thought that was a Twilight Zone show.

It was, and is still.

 

[hortysir]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with To Serve Man, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

I thought that was a Twilight Zone show. But yeah I remember.

That was my next guess

 

[EverCurious]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

Related: Carbon Nanotubes Were An Ancient Superweapon

 

[AvgGuyIA]

[
They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with To Serve Man, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

To Serve Man - The Twilight Zone

 

[PaintMyHouse]

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with To Serve Man, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

To Serve Man - The Twilight Zone

That is correct.

 

[DigitalDrifter]

Imagine how many intelligent species rose and fell in the 63 million years between those and the dinosaurs. Humans have only been around a couple hundred millenia. Who knows what rose and fell in the millions of years before that...

They had it made, that is until the mother-ship arrived with How to Serve Humans, the cookbook. Extra points if you know the reference.

Did some kid take over your username? I mean, why did you go from fucked to funny?

Fucked?? And I do have a sense of humor. I laugh at the little morons here day in and day out, when I'm not digging mass graves for them that is.

That's better. There's the arrogant prick we've all come to hate.