What species came before Australopithecus?
What species came before Australopithecus?
In a phylogenetic model that emphasizes African Miocene species, Samburupithecus is ancestral to Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Orrorin, and Orrorin begets Au. afarensis, which is ancestral to Homo.
When and where was the first fossil of Australopithecus discovered?
Raymond Dart discovered the first australopithecine in November, 1924. The fossil was found at a lime quarry at Taung, southwest of Johannesburg, and was of an immature apelike individual.
What is the common name of the australopithecine fossil?
Australopithecus afarensis
| Australopithecus afarensis Temporal range: Pliocene, | |
|---|---|
| Genus: | †Australopithecus |
| Species: | †A. afarensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Australopithecus afarensis Johanson, White, and Coppens, 1978 |
Where have most fossils of Australopithecus been found?
Since the discovery of the Taung specimen, many hundreds of specimens from roughly eight species of Australopithecus have been discovered in South Africa (A. africanus, A. sediba), eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania; A.
When did Australopithecus evolve?
The various species of Australopithecus lived 4.4 million to 1.4 million years ago (mya), during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs (which lasted from 5.3 million to 11,700 years ago). The genus name, meaning “southern ape,” refers to the first fossils found, which were discovered in South Africa.
What is the oldest pre australopithecine?
Bipedalism, however, appears to have been established in the six-million-year-old Orrorin tugenensis, a pre-Australopithecus found in the Tugen Hills near Lake Baringo in central Kenya. In 2001 these fossils were described as the earliest known hominin.
What happened to Australopithecus?
anamensis, existed in eastern Africa around 4.2 million years ago. While none of the groups normally directly assigned to this group survived, Australopithecus gave rise to living descendants, as the genus Homo emerged from an Australopithecus species at some time between 3 and 2 million years ago.
Where are pre-australopithecines found?
Pre-Australopithecines – Located in Awash River Valley, Ethiopia – Femur and pelvis indicate capable of bipedalism Ardipithecus Ramidus (4.4 mya) Pre-Australopithecines
What are the different types of Australopithecus?
1 Australopithecus afarensis. 2 Australopithecus africanus. 3 Australopithecus anamensis. 4 Australopithecus bahrelghazali. 5 Australopithecus garhi. 6 Australopithecus sediba.
What is the evolutionary significance of Australopithecus afarensis?
Evolutionary role. The fossil record seems to indicate that Australopithecus is the common ancestor of the distinct group of hominids now called Paranthropus (the “robust australopiths”), and most likely the genus Homo, which includes modern humans.
What is the difference between robust and gracile Australopithecus?
Robust australopithecines (like A. boisei and A. robustus) had larger cheek, or buccal, teeth than the smaller – or gracile – species (like A. afarensis and A. africanus). It is possible that they had more tough, fibrous plant material in their diets while the smaller species of Australopithecus had more meat.
