Michel Brunet (paleontologist)

Michel Brunet (born 1940 in Vienne, France) is a French paleontologist and professor at the Collège de France. He is best known for his discovery of "Toumaï" (Sahelanthropus tchadensis), a hominin fossil found in Chad in 2001, which is considered one of the oldest known possible ancestors of the human lineage.

Brunet's career has been dedicated to the search for early hominids, primarily focusing on locations in Africa. Before the discovery of Toumaï, he was involved in notable finds such as Australopithecus bahrelghazali (nicknamed "Abel") in Chad in 1995, marking the first australopithecine discovered west of the Great Rift Valley.

His research interests revolve around the origins of the human lineage, hominin evolution, and the paleoenvironmental context in which early hominids lived. He has led and participated in numerous paleontological expeditions to Africa.

Brunet's work has been published in numerous scientific journals and he has received several awards for his contributions to the field of paleoanthropology. The discovery of Toumaï in particular generated considerable debate among scientists regarding its place in the hominin family tree and its implications for our understanding of human evolution. His ongoing research continues to contribute to our understanding of early human origins.