A paper published on March 4, 2026 by Spassov, N., Youlatos, D., Böhme, M. et al. A (n early form of terrestrial hominine bipedalism in the Late Miocene of Bulgaria. Palaeobio Palaeoenv (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-025-00691-0) posits that the analysis of the bones of a hominine that is possibly a Graecopithecus discovered in Azmaka (Bulgaria), which is 7.2 million years old, including a very well preserved femur, shows it walked on two feet-
In line with my previous posts, this paper supports a Eurasian origin for hominines, and their migration back into Africa, as ancestors of gorillas, chimpanzees, and our homo ancestors: "The wooded-grassland savanna environment of the early Messinian locality of Azmaka suggests that terrestrial bipedalism likely evolved in a non-forested setting. The early Messinian age is critical to our understanding of mammalian palaeobiogeography and the intercontinental dispersals between Eurasia and Africa. We hypothesise that the descendants of the Azmaka hominine may have dispersed from Eurasia into Africa under the influence of climatic and environmental changes in the eastern Mediterranean. If such dispersal occurred, it may have been associated with subsequent re-occupation of more forested settings in both the ancestors of African apes and hominins."
Graecopithecus was a hominin
The paper in its final comment concludes that "If the Azmaka femur is attributable to Graecopithecus, the fact that it is bipedal (although transitional) represents additional evidence that this genus is a hominin".
Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2026 by Austin Whittall ©
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