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Mary Douglas Leakey, FBA (née Nicol, 6 February 1913 – 9 December 1996) was a British paleoanthropologist who discovered the first fossilised Proconsul skull, an extinct ape which is now believed to be ancestral to humans. She also discovered the robust Zinjanthropus skull at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, eastern Africa.
The Leakey expedition of 1947–1948 to Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria uncovered more species of Proconsul. Mary Leakey made an especially complete find of Proconsul there in 1948, [3] which was for a number of decades labeled africanus, but was reclassified as heseloni in 1993 by Alan Walker.
Apr 2, 2014 · Mary made her first big discovery in 1948: she found a partial skull fossil of Proconsul africanus, an ancestor of apes and humans that later evolved into the two distinct species.
Quick Facts. In full: Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey. Also called: Louis S.B. Leakey. Born: August 7, 1903, Kabete, Kenya. Died: October 1, 1972, London, England (aged 69) Notable Family Members: spouse Mary Douglas Leakey. son Richard Leakey. Subjects Of Study: Kenyapithecus.
Among her many scientific accomplishments, Mary is credited with the discovery of Proconsul africanus in 1948, Zinjanthropus boisei (now known as Australopithecus boisei) in 1959, Homo habilis in 1960, and an amazingly well-preserved 89-foot long trail of early human footprints found at Laetoli (1979). These footprints have been dated to about ...
Oct 6, 1983 · The distorted skull of a female Proconsul africanus was found by Dr M. Leakey in 1948 in early Miocene sediments at locality R106 on Rusinga Island, Kenya 1,2. Le Gros Clark 1 and Robinson 3...
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Dec 23, 1996 · It was part of the jaw and skull fragments of a creature called Proconsul africanus, then widely thought to be a human ancestor (though now considered more closely related to the apes). The...
