Australopithecus aethiopicus
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Transcript Australopithecus aethiopicus
Australopithecus africanus
Discovered: 1924 in Taung limestone
quarry in South Africa by Raymond Dart
Age range: 3.0 – 2.2 mya
Type specimen: Taung Child (6 yo)
Cranial capacity: 440 cc (avg.)
Features: slightly projecting lower face,
large molars, small front teeth &
canines, short face
Australopithecus africanus
Australopithecus robustus
Discovered: 1936 by Robert Broom in
South Africa
Age range: 1.8 -1 mya
Cranial capacity: 530 cc
Features: robust features = sagittal crest,
large teeth, thick & wide cheekbones,
large face, large jaw, small brain
Diet of hard food items: nuts, seeds, tubers,
roots, leaves
Australopithecus boisei
Discovered: 1959 by Mary Leakey in Tanzania
(East Africa)
Note: Originally named “Zinjanthropus boisei”
Age range: 2.2 – 1.3 mya
Cranial capacity: 530 cc
Features: “Hyper-robust” – massive jaw, huge
molars & big teeth w/wear, prominent sagittal
crest
Cranial-dental features work as “grinding machine”;
nicknamed “Nutcracker Man”; ate seeds, nuts, roots,
tubers, leaves (NOT a tool maker---teeth are tools)
Australopithecus afarensis (aka “Lucy”)
Discovered: 1974 in Hadar, East Africa by
Don Johanson
Age range: 3.9 – 3 mya
Significance:
Antiquity - 1 my older than any
other hominid found at that time
40% complete – nearly all bones
represented
Established bipedalism in earliest
known hominid (w/small brain)
Lucy’s Features
Only found in E. Africa
Cranial capacity – 375 – 550 cc.
Ape-like face
Low forehead
Bony ridge over eyes
Flat nose
No chin
Protruding jaws
Lucy’s Features, Cont.
Large, thickly enameled back teeth
Slightly projecting upper canine
U-shaped jaw (like apes, but not identical)
3 ½ - 5 ft. tall
Arms longer than legs
Pelvis & leg bones adapted for bipedalism
Curved finger & toe bones
“The First Family” – A. afarensis
Discovered: 1975 by Don Johanson
Features: Remains of 13 individuals
(male, female, adults, juveniles)
Highly sexually dimorphic (males much bigger
than females)
Same features as Lucy
Significance: strong evidence of variation
within the species & for A. afarensis as a
hominid
A. afarensis, cont.
The Laetoli Footprints
Discovered: 1978 in Tanzania by Mary
Leakey
Age: 3.7 – 3.5 mya
Features: Prints reveal human-like stride;
big toe in line with others; arch in foot
Significance: Establishes bipedality in
earliest hominids
Evolution of Bipedalism
Anatomical Adaptations
Australopithecines have
wide, short pelvis
Femur is angled inward
toward the knees to bear
upper body weight
Modern human pelvis is
rounded
Early Hominid Bipedalism
Not EXACTLY like modern humans
A. afarensis ankle & shoulder joints more like a
chimp’s (more flexibility)
A. afarensis finger and toe bones retain some
curvature
Foramen magnum indicates A. afarensis is an
obligate biped (committed to bipedalism)
Conclusion: A. afarensis spent time in trees & on
the ground
Comparison of Hominid Skeletons
Adaptive Patterns of the
Australopithecines
Bipedal
Small bodied (avg. height of 4-5 ft.)
Small brains (approx. same as modern
chimp)
Tool use similar to modern chimps
NOT stone tool user
Small, social groups of bonded
males/females & offspring
The Australopithecines, Continued
Lived in mixed woodland/savannah
Foragers – gathered nuts, seeds, fruits,
roots, tubers
Small populations
Genetic drift, mutations, selective pressures =
rapid genetic divergence & eventual speciation
Represent a successful lifestyle
Adaptive Patterns of Early African
Hominids
Gracile australopiths
More omnivorous
More arboreal
Reflected in foot, ankle,
hand, wrist bones
A. afarensis, A. africanus
Adaptive Patterns of Early African
Hominids
Robust
australopiths
Diet of hard food
items
Less arboreal
Due to food sources
Extinct 1 mya
A. robustus, A. boisei
Different Genus? Paranthropus
The Pre-Australopithecines
Ardipithecus ramidus
Discovered: 1994 in Ethiopia by various
research teams
Age range: 5.8- 4.4 mya
Features: most complete ancient hominid
skeleton – bones of hand, feet, limbs,
pelvis, most of skull & teeth; remains of
males, females, juveniles
A. ramidus, cont.
Mix of ape & human traits:
Small canines
Grasping big toe (only biped w/ this feature)
Long arms, short legs
Small brain
Hand bones NOT adapted for knuckle-walking
Small molars
Diet: omnivorious - plants, fruits, insects, nuts,
seeds
Environment: lush woodlands, forests
Ardipithecus ramidus
Significance:
1 my older than Lucy
Closest established hominid to Last Common
Ancestor with chimps
Evidence of bipedalism arising in a more
arboreal context than previously thought
Ardipithecus ramidus,
cont.
Lucy (Au. afarensis) at left
Ardi (Ard. ramidus) on right
Ardipithecus ramidus
Orrorin tugenensis aka “Millenium Man”
Discovered: 2001 in western Kenya
Age range: 6 mya
Remains: Fragmentary arm & thigh bones; lower
jaws & teeth
Features: Limb bones larger than later hominid
species
Cranial capacity: Not yet determined
Notes: Some evidence of bipedality & tree
climbing; dental & some skeletal features more
human than ape like
Significance: More evidence that bipedalism may
have originated in the trees
Pre-Australopithecines, cont.
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Found in central Africa, country of Chad
Nearly complete cranium
Small braincase: 370-380 cc
Massively built, heavy browridges, crest in
back, large muscle attachments
Reduced upper canine
Small, vertical face
Cannot determine bipedality
OLDEST possible hominid
Common ancestor?
Other Australopithecines
You will not be tested on any of the
following species, they are included here
only to demonstrate the VARIATION
present in early hominid evolution
Australopithecus aethiopicus
Discovered: 1985 in Kenya
Age range: 2.8 – 2.2 mya
Cranial capacity: 410 cc
Features: Very broad projecting face
Large sagittal crest
Massive jaws and molars
Notes: Ancestor to A. boisei and A.
robustus
Australopithecus anamensis
Discovered: 1995 in Kenya by Meave Leakey
Age range: 4.2 – 3.9 mya
Remains: Skull, teeth, leg and arm bones
Cranial capacity: Not yet determined
Features: Thickly enameled teeth
Notes: Skull features are primitive
Body features are humanlike*
*Skull and skeletal bones may not be from the
same species
Australopithecus garhi
Discovered: 1999 in Ethiopia
Age range: 2.5 mya
Remains: 5 hominids; 1 partial skull, parts of
limb skeleton
Cranial capacity: Not yet determined
Features: Extremely large back teeth, large front
teeth, projecting face
Notes: Long forelimbs and long hindlimbs
Found in assoc. w/butchered animal
bones
Could A. garhi be first stone tool user?
Kenyanthropus platyops
Discovered: 2001 in Kenya by R. Leakey
Age range: 3.5 mya
Remains: Partial skull
Cranial capacity: 410 – 440 cc
Features: Large, flat face; small teeth
Notes: Some features foreshadow Homo