In: Biology
Answer: Option 3rd (Centralized foramen magnum) is the correct answer.
Explanation:
Sahelanthropus tchadensis is one of the oldest known species in the human family tree. This species lived sometime between 7 and 6 million years ago. The territory of living, as supposed, was West-Central Africa. Walking upright may have helped this species survive in diverse habitats, including forests and grasslands. This species had a combination of ape-like and human-like features.
Ape-like features included:
· A small brain (even slightly smaller than a chimpanzee’s),
· Sloping face,
· Very prominent brow ridges,
· And elongated skull.
Human-like features included:
· Small canine teeth,
· A short middle part of the face,
· And a spinal cord opening (Centralized foramen magnum) underneath the skull instead of towards the back as seen in non-bipedal apes.
According to paleontologist, hominins are primates that share characteristics such as "bipedalism, reduced canine size, and increasing brain size."
Some of the oldest evidence of a humanlike species moving about in an upright position comes from Sahelanthropus. The foramen magnum (the large opening where the spinal cord exits out of the cranium from the brain) is located further forward (on the underside of the cranium) than in apes or any other primate except humans. This feature indicates that the head of Sahelanthropus was held on an upright body, probably associated with walking on two legs (bipedalism). Today, many anthropologists agree that the 7 million year old Sahelanthropus was an early hominid while others suggests it was nothing more than an ancient ape.