A fossil jaw found in Wadi Moghra, in northern Egypt, belongs to a newly identified ape species called Masripithecus moghraensis.

A fossil jaw is a jaw preserved from a very old animal or human in rock.

A fossil jaw found in Wadi Moghra, in northern Egypt, belongs to a newly identified ape species called Masripithecus moghraensis.

An ape species is a particular kind of ape.

Researchers date it to about 17 to 18 million years ago.

Here, “date” means work out when the fossil is from.

The study’s analyses point to northern Africa and the Middle East as possible homes of the common ancestor of living apes.

Here, “point to” means suggest that these places may be where the ancestor lived.

The study places this species closer to living apes than any known ape from the Early Miocene of East Africa.

The Early Miocene is an early part of a period in Earth’s history, about 23 to 16 million years ago.

The researchers also compared ancient animal distributions.

Animal distributions are the places where different animals lived.

The study challenges the long-standing assumption that the roots of living apes were centered in or around East Africa.

A long-standing assumption is an idea that people have believed for a long time without being sure it is true.

The fossil challenges the long-standing assumption that living apes evolved from ancestors centered in or around East Africa.

A long-standing assumption is an idea believed for a long time; here, it is about where living apes’ earlier ancestors lived.

This is the first definitive fossil ape discovered in North Africa.

Here, “definitive” means clearly confirmed as a fossil ape.