 All known material of "Sahelanthropus" was found between July 2001 and March 2002 at three sites in the " Toros-Menalla" formation, designated TM 266 (which yielded most of the material, including a cranium and a femur), TM 247 and TM 292.The discoverers claimed that "S. tchadensis" is the oldest-known human ancestor after the split of the human line from that of chimpanzees.The bones were found far from most previous hominin fossil finds, which are from Eastern and Southern Africa.