Australopithecus bahrelghazali (KT-12/H1) is a
fossil hominin discovered in 1995 by the
paleontologist Michel Brunet in the
Bahr el Ghazal valley near
Koro Toro, in
Chad. Named after the valley where it was discovered,
Australopithecus bahrelghazali was dated by
beryllium-based
radiometric dating as living about 3.6 million years ago. The find consists of a mandibular fragment, a lower second incisor, both lower canines, and all four of its premolars, still affixed within the
dental alveoli. The specimen locality is roughly 2,500 kilometers west of the
East African Great Rift Valley, making it far removed from what broadly thought to be the "cradle" area of human evolution. (The specimen's proper name is KT-12/H1; Brunet named it
Abel as a dedication to his deceased colleague Abel Brillanceau.)