Australopithecus Africanus:
- The size of the cranium and facial portion closely resembles that of the chimpanzee. ...
- Seen in profile the face is concave as in the orang.
- Circular eye orbits resembles with Orangutan and Lemurs.
- The nasal aperture was small and equal in length and breadth.
- The flat nasal bones resemble that of the chimpanzee.
What are the adaptations of Australopithecus africanus?
The Australopithecus africanus They have all the adaptations in the lower limbs corresponding to a habitual biped. They also retained features in their limbs that belonged to a climbing hominid, with upward-facing shoulder joints, long arms compared to their legs, and long, curved fingers.
What is the difference between Australopithecus afarensis and Africanus?
Fossil remains indicate that A. africanus was significantly more like modern humans than A. afarensis, with a more human-like cranium permitting a larger brain and more humanoid facial features.
What did australopithecines look like?
Australopithecines had long , robust arms , similar to those of apes, indicating that they combined their movement on the lower extremities with climbing trees or climbing between branches. They were small and slender, measuring between 1.20 and 1.40 meters tall .
How is Australopithecus similar to modern humans?
As characterized by the fossil evidence, members of Australopithecus bore a combination of humanlike and apelike traits. They were similar to modern humans in that they were bipedal (that is, they walked on two legs), but, like apes, they had small brains.
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What are some characteristics of Australopithecus?
Australopithecines (plural of Australopithecus) were short and stocky with apelike features such as long arms, thick waistlines and chimpanzee-like faces. They had short and stocky apelike bodies, and brains closer in size to a chimpanzee than a modern human. Males were about 1.37 meters tall and females 1.14 meters.
What are 2 characteristics of Australopithecus?
They were similar to modern humans in that they were bipedal (that is, they walked on two legs), but, like apes, they had small brains. Their canine teeth were smaller than those found in apes, and their cheek teeth were larger than those of modern humans.
What skills did Australopithecus africanus have?
leg and foot bones indicate that this species had the ability to walk on two legs. they also indicate some ape-like features including slightly curved finger and toe bones and arms that were quite long, although not longer than their legs.
What are Australopithecus and what major features do they all share?
The Australopithecus species, referred to as Australopithecines, had features that were both human-like and ape-like. Their brains were smaller and more in the range of the brains of modern apes. They tended to have longer arms that seemed well-suited to climbing.
What is meant by Australopithecus africanus?
Australopithecus africanus is an extinct species of australopithecine which lived between about 3.9 and 2.1 million years ago in the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of South Africa. The species has been recovered from Taung, Sterkfontein, Makapansgat, and Gladysvale.
What is the difference between Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus africanus?
The upper and lower jaws of A. africanus were also fully rounded in front, like those of modern humans, and their canine teeth were smaller on average than those of A. afarensis. Australopithecus africanus individuals probably inhabited open woodlands, where they would have foraged for fruits, seeds, and roots.
How did Australopithecus africanus survive?
They also had small canine teeth like all other early humans, and a body that stood on two legs and regularly walked upright. Their adaptations for living both in the trees and on the ground helped them survive for almost a million years as climate and environments changed.
How did Australopithecus africanus communicate?
Answer and Explanation: Australopithecus afarensis communicated through gestures and vocalizations. They had small brains compared to humans, so their communications were probably much more like those of chimpanzees than humans.
Did a africanus use tools?
Australopithecus africanus, Other Early Hominins May Have Made, Used Stone Tools.
Where was Australopithecus africanus found?
South AfricaIn 1994, scientist Ron Clarke found four left early human foot bones while searching through boxes of fossils at Sterkfontein, a site in South Africa where most Au. africanus fossils come from.
What did Australopithecus africanus evolve from?
africanus is considered to be a gracile australopith by some and a robust australopith by others. Traditionally, the species was favored as the immediate ancestor of the Homo lineage, specifically of Homo habilis. However, some researchers have always believed that Au. afarensis was the common ancestor of both Au.
What are the three types of Australopithecus?
Different Australopithecines Australopithecus africanus. a) A. africanus (lived about 3.3 million to 2.1 million years ago in southern Africa) ... Also called Paranthropus (lived about 2.6 million to 1.1 million years ago) a) P. ... Also called Praeanthropus.
What does Australopithecus mean?
Australopithecus, means ‘southern ape’. It is based on ‘australo’, a Latin word meaning ‘southern’ and ‘pithecus’, a Greek word meaning ‘ape’. The name was originally created just for this species found in South Africa but several closely related species now share the same genus name.
Where was Australopithecus africanus found?
Since then, many hundreds of Australopithecus africanus fossils have been found in South Africa. Sts 14: a partial skeleton discovered in1947 by Robert Broom and John Robinson in Sterkfontein, South Africa. The shape of this pelvis proved Australopithecus africanus was able to walk upright on two legs.
What does the word "Africanus" mean?
The word africanus is a Latinised form of the word ‘Africa’ and indicates the continent where this species was found . Relationships with other species. Australopithecus africanus was once considered to be a direct ancestor of modern humans but new finds have challenged this position.
Why was the ape first rejected from the family tree?
This species was the first of our pre-human ancestors to be discovered, but was initially rejected from our family tree because of its small brain. This opinion changed when new evidence showed this species had many features intermediate between apes and humans.
How old is the skull of a child?
This 2.3 million-year-old skull of a young child is the ‘type specimen’ or official representative of this species. It was the first fossil of a human ancestor ever found in Africa and was also the first to be classified in the genus Australopithecus.
How old is the Eureka skull?
Enter the Eureka Prizes! Discovered: 1947 by Robert Broom and John Robinson in Sterkfontein, South Africa Age: 2.5 million years old The skull was nicknamed ‘Mrs Ples’ because it was originally considered to be an adult female from the genus Plesianthropus.
Is Australopithecus africanus a direct ancestor of modern humans?
Australopithecus africanus was once considered to be a direct ancestor of modern humans but new finds have challenged this position. Many scientists now believe this species represents a side branch in our evolutionary family tree but there is disagreement about its exact relationship to other species.
What is the difference between apes and incisors?
The incisors are small in size and almost vertical in position, while in apes it is sloped.
What was the lower jaw like?
The lower jaw was solid and thick like a man.
Where was the first fossil of Australopithecus africanus found?
The fossil was discovered incased in limestone at a quarry in a placed called Tuang, South Africa. After it had been liberated from the limestone, the fossil resembled a young primate and thus was named “Tuang Baby” (Green & Gordon, 2008: 1).
Where are Australopithecus fossils found?
The location of fossils of Australopithecus africanus has mainly been in the southern Africa. These places include “sterkfontein, Makapansgat, gladysvale and Tuang” which are all located in South Africa (Aiello & Dean, 1990: 56). Other areas where the fossils are believed to be located include around Lake Turkana in Kenya and Omo in Ethiopia.
What is the name of the hominid that lived between 2 and 3 million years ago?
Australopithecus africanus is the name given to early hominid that lived between 2 and 3 million years ago (Aiello & Dean, 1990). A. Africanus had a slender physique and is often believed to be an immediate ancestor of the present human being. Its “cranial features resemble those of human beings though the arms are slightly larger than the legs such as in the chimpanzees” (McKee, 2000: 23).
How much did the hominid weigh?
The males of this species are believed to have had weight measuring up to 100 pounds. The females are believed to have weighed much less, approximately 50 pounds.
What is the challenge of A. africanus?
africanus. The challenge has mainly focused on how to “interpret the locomotor implications of the australopith postcranial anatomy” (Green & Gordon, 2008: 2). Some scholars have asserted that the more apelike features possessed by the A. africanus should be viewed as adaptations.
What is the name of the fossil found in Ethiopia?
The fossils discovered in Ethiopia had been categorized in another genus referred to as paraustralopithecus but were described as not being biologically valid and thus re-designated to A. africanus (Ferguson, 1987). Several other fossils have been discovered in other parts of Ethiopia and Tanzania but there have always been contentions on whether to classify them as new species or just call them A. africanus.
How long have fossils of A. africanus been around?
According to Green & Gordon, current data indicates that the fossils of A. africanus “date to between 2.85 and 2.0 million years” (2008: 3). This time range has been established by a combination of different measuring techniques particularly palaeomagnetism, electron spin resonance, faunal dating and uranium lead Pickering (McHenry, 1998).
What are the characteristics of an A. africanus?
It is unclear if this means australopiths were still arboreal to a degree, or if these traits were simply inherited from the human–chimp last common ancestor. Nonetheless, A. africanus exhibits a more ape-like upper limb anatomy than A. afarensis, and is typically interpreted as having been, to some extent, arboreal. Like in arboreal primates, the fingers are curved, the arms relatively long and the shoulders are in a shrugging position. The A. africanus shoulder is most like that of orangutans, and well suited for maintaining stability and bearing weight while raised and placed overhead. However, the right clavicle of StW 573 has a distinctly S-shaped (sigmoid) curve like humans, which indicates a humanlike moment arm for stabilising the shoulder girdle against the humerus. The A. africanus arm bones are consistent with powerful muscles useful in climbing. Nonetheless, the brachial index (the forearm to humerus ratio) is 82.8–86.2 (midway between chimps and humans), which indicates a reduction in forearm length from the more ancient hominin Ardipithecus ramidus. The thumb and wrist indicate humanlike functionality with a precision grip and forceful opposition between the thumb and fingers. The adoption of such a grip is typically interpreted as an adaptation for tool making at the expense of efficient climbing and arboreal habitation.
What traits did A. africanus have?
africanus also had several upper body traits in common with arboreal non-human apes. This is variously interpreted as either evidence of a partially or fully arboreal lifestyle, or as a non-functional vestige from a more apelike ancestor.
What is the new genus of Great Apes?
Dart, after hastily freeing the fossil from its matrix, already in January 1925 named the specimen as a new genus and species: Australopithecus africanus. At this time, great apes were classified into the family Pongidae encompassing all non-human fossil apes, and Hominidae encompassing humans and ancestors.
How much brain size does A. africanus have?
If correct, this would indicate that A. africanus was born with about 38% of its total brain size, which is more similar to non-human great apes at 40% than humans at 30%. The inner ear has wide semicircular canals like non-human apes, as well as loose turns at the terminal end of the cochlea like humans.
When was the Australopithecus fossil discovered?
At the time, these remains were dated to 3.3 million years ago in the Late Pliocene. In 2019, Clarke and South African palaeoanthropologist Kathleen Kuman redated StW 573 to 3.67 million years ago, making it the oldest Australopithecus specimen from South Africa. They considered its antiquity further evidence of species distinction, ...
What is the upper body of A. africanus?
The upper body of A. africanus is more apelike than that of the East African A. afarensis . A. africanus, unlike most other primates, seems to have exploited C4 foods such as grasses, seeds, rhizomes, underground storage organs, or potentially creatures higher up on the food chain.
When did Australopithecus prometheus live?
Australopithecus prometheus? Australopithecus africanus is an extinct species of australopithecine which lived from 3.67 to 2 million years ago in the Middle Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of South Africa.
What are the traits of Australopithecus?
As characterized by the fossil evidence, members of Australopithecus bore a combination of humanlike and apelike traits. They were similar to modern humans in that they were bipedal (that is, they walked on two legs), but, like apes, they had small brains. Their canine teeth were smaller than those found in apes, ...
What is the most famous specimen of Australopithecus?
Perhaps the most famous specimen of Australopithecus is “ Lucy ,” a remarkably preserved fossilized skeleton from Ethiopia that has been dated to 3.2 mya. Australopithecus afarensis. Artist's rendering of Australopithecus afarensis, which lived from 3.8 to 2.9 million years ago. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Why is it so hard to identify the earliest member of the Hominini tribe?
Identifying the earliest member of the human tribe ( Hominini) is difficult because the predecessors of modern humans become increasingly apelike as the fossil record is followed back through time.
What are some examples of humanlike traits?
For example, the purported earliest species, Sahelanthropus tchadensis, is humanlike in having a slightly reduced canine tooth and a face that does not project forward very far.
What is the name of the group of extinct primates closely related to, if not actually ancestors?
Learn about the discovery of the Australopithecus genus. Learn about the Australopithecus genus. Australopithecus, (Latin: “southern ape”) (genus Australopithecus ), group of extinct primates closely related to, if not actually ancestors of, modern human beings and known from a series of fossils found at numerous sites in eastern, north-central, ...
What is the name of the genus of australopithecines?
Australopithecines include the genus Paranthropus (2.3–1.2 mya), which comprises three species of australopiths—collectively called the “robusts” because of their very large cheek teeth set in massive jaws. Non-australopithecine members of the human lineage ( hominins) include Sahelanthropus tchadensis (7–6 mya), Orrorin tugenensis (6 mya), ...
How old is Homo?
In contrast, remains older than six million ...
How did Australopithecus africanus become a fossil?
The fossilization of Australopithecus africanus It was facilitated by the calcification of the bones that generated the constant dripping of water on the remains of the hominids.
Who discovered Australopithecus africanus?
The discovery of Australopithecus africanus It is attributed to Raymond Dart, who in 1924 found the first remains of this species. His now famous "Taung boy" was named after the place of his discovery.
What is the name of the extinct hominid?
TheAutralopithecu africanu it i a pecie of extinct hominid dicovered in Africa. In 1924 Raymond Dart identified fragment of the face and jaw of a bipedal ape in it juvenile tage. At firt, the foil tha
Which species has all adaptations in the lower limbs corresponding to a habitual biped?
The Australopithecus africanus They have all the adaptations in the lower limbs corresponding to a habitual biped.
What is Dart's skull?
The skull that Dart discovered was classified into a specimen of a new genus and species: the Australopithecus africanu s or the "ape of southern Africa." His claim of a creature possessing a brain the size of an ape and with teeth and posture similar to those of humans was met with skepticism.
What did Brain reject Dart's consideration of Austrolopithecus like?
Brain rejected Dart's consideration of Austrolopithecus like some "killer apes." Instead, he argued that the bones found alongside the hominin remains belonged to large cat prey or were taken to caves by rodents in search of food.
Is Australopithecus africanus encephalized?
While its brain was small compared to later species, the Australopithecus africanus It was not only more encephalized than its ances tors (with a cranial capacity of 450 cc), but it also had a larger cerebral cortex in the frontal and parietal regions.
Who Was Australopithecus?
Australopithecus literally means 'southern ape.' It is an extinct genus of members of the human family tree. Scientists generally accept five species: A. afarensus, A. africanus, A. anamensis, A. garhi, and A. sediba, as belonging to the genus.
What is the oldest known Australopithecine?
Living some 4.2 to 3.9 million years ago, A. anamensis is the oldest known Australopithecine. A. anamensis had a jaw like a chimp, but teeth that were clearly hominid. While little of its skeleton has been found, it is thought to have climbed trees like other Australopithecines, as well as walked upright.
Why is A. africanus considered a species?
africanus is one of the most talked-about species, particularly because of the way that the Taung Child is thought to have died. The Taung Child is thought to have been killed by an eagle.
Which genus evolved earlier than Homo?
Australopithecus is another hominid genus that evolved earlier than Homo. In fact, genus Homo appears to have evolved from genus Australopithecus. The hominid family tree is grouped by genus, or by related genera in the case of the earliest grouping.
Which is larger, Africanus or Afarensis?
A. africanus has a larger brain and rounder skull than A. afarensis. The teeth are also smaller. It had a curved lower spine for absorbing shock when walking, which it did bipedally. Human lower spines have the same sort of curvature. On the other hand, Africanus retains the more ape-like sloping face, jaw, and long arms and shoulders adapted for climbing.
Did humans walk upright?
However, their skeletons show that they walked upright. Furthermore, the teeth of some species were more like human teeth. Perhaps more importantly, they showed that our ancestors started walking upright before the evolution of larger brains.
Do apes have longer arms?
Their brains were smaller and more in the range of the brains of modern apes. They tended to have longer arms that seemed well-suited to climbing. In general, their facial features looked more ape-like than human, with sloping faces and jutting jaws. However, their skeletons show that they walked upright.
Origin of Australopithecus
The species that make up the genus Australopithecus arose in the south of the African continent ( hence its name: austral, “southern” and pitekos , “ape”). Judging by the locations of their fossil finds, they lived in what is now the territory of Ethiopia, Chad, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa.
Australopithecus physical characteristics
Australopithecines had long , robust arms , similar to those of apes, indicating that they combined their movement on the lower extremities with climbing trees or climbing between branches.
Australopithecus habitat
It is probable that the Australopithecines lived in the oases of the African savannah , where there were still trees and an abundance of food, but not too much, otherwise the need to descend from the trees and learn to walk upright is not explained.
Australopithecus fossil beds
The main fossil deposits of this genus are in Africa, specifically in: Bahr-el-Gazal, South Sudan; Hadar and Middle Awash, Ethiopia ; Lake Turkana, Kenya; Laetoli, Tanzania; Makanspansgat, Sterkfontein and Taung, South Africa.
Australopithecus extinction
The disappearance of australopithecines from the planet took place around 2 million years ago . Probably due to competition with the genus Homo, whose first species were Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis .
Introduction
- Australopithecus africanus is the name given to early hominid that lived between 2 and 3 million years ago (Aiello & Dean, 1990). A. Africanushad a slender physique and is often believed to be an immediate ancestor of the present human being. Its “cranial features resemble those of human beings though the arms are slightly larger than the legs such...
Time Range For The Australopithecus Africanus
- There are varying time ranges for the fossils of A. africanus discovered in different areas. According to Green & Gordon, current data indicates that the fossils of A. africanus“date to between 2.85 and 2.0 million years” (2008: 3). This time range has been established by a combination of different measuring techniques particularly palaeomagnetism, electron spin res…
Individuals Who Discovered The A. Africanus Fossils
- The original Australopithecus africanusfossils found in Tuang, South Africa were discovered in 1924 by Raymond Dart who was one of the pioneers of paleoanthropology (Aiello & Dean, 1990). At the time of the discovery there were rejections from other paleoanthropologists who held a strong believed that any human ancestors must be found in Europe. The Makapansgat A. africa…
Controversy/Issues/Research Challenges About Australopithecus Africanus
- The controversies surrounding A. africanus have been around since the first discovery of its fossils in Tuang, South Africa. The material was first rejected by several anthropologists who likened it to a young gorilla or chimpanzee (McHenry, 1998). In those days it was a perquisite that any human ancestor should have an “enlarged brain and an apelike jaw” and thus the hominid fo…
Conclusion
- This paper sought to describe Australopithecus africanusaccording to: the origins or where the fossils were discovered; identify the range of places they are located on the map; identify the individual who discovered them; the actual published time range that the specimen existed; and finally identify whether there are any controversy/issues/research challenges about them. It has …
Works Cited
- Abitbol, Malhotra. “Reconstruction of the STS 14 (Australopithcus africanus) pelvis.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology(1995): 143-58. Print. Aiello, Imre and Collins Dean. An Introduction to Human evolution Anatomy.London: Academic Press, 1990. Ferguson, Walter. “Revision of the Subspecies of Australopithecus Africanus.” Primates (1987): (2): 258-265. Print…
Overview
Australopithecus africanus is an extinct species of australopithecine which lived 3.67 million years ago in the Middle Pliocene of South Africa. It is currently unknown when the species went extinct. The species has been recovered from Taung and the Cradle of Humankind at Sterkfontein, Makapansgat, and Gladysvale. The first specimen, the Taung child, was described by anatomist Raymond Dart in 1924, and was the first early hominin found. However, its closer relations to hum…
Research history
In 1924, Australian anatomist Professor Raymond Dart, since 1923 working in South-Africa, was informed by one of his students, Josephine Salmons, that monkey fossils (of Papio izodi) had been discovered by shotfirer M.G. de Bruyn in a limestone quarry in Taung, South Africa, operated by the Northern Lime Company. Knowing that Scottish geologist Professor Robert Burns Young was at the time carrying out excavations in the area in search of archaic human remains like Homo rhod…
Anatomy
Based on 4 specimens, the A. africanus brain volume averaged about 420–510 cc (26–31 cu in). Based on this, neonatal brain size was estimated to have been 165.5–190 cc (10.10–11.59 cu in) using trends seen in adult and neonate brain size in modern primates. If correct, this would indicate that A. africanus was born with about 38% of its total brain size, which is more similar to non-human great apes at 40% than humans at 30%. The inner ear has wide semicircular canals lik…
Palaeobiology
In 1954, Robinson proposed that A. africanus was a generalist omnivore whereas P. robustus was a specialised herbivore; and in 1981, American palaeoanthropologist Frederick E. Grine suggested that P. robustus specialised on hard foods such as nuts whereas A. africanus on softer foods such as fruits and leaves. Based on carbon isotope analyses, A. africanus had a highly variable diet which included a notable amount of C4 savanna plants such as grasses, seeds, rhizomes, un…
Palaeoecology
South African australopithecines appear to lived in an area with a wide range of habitats. At Sterkfontein, fossil wood belonging to the liana Dichapetalum cf. mombuttense was recovered. The only living member of this tree genus in South Africa is Dichapetalum cymosum, which grows in dense, humid gallery forests. In modern day, D. mombuttense only grows in the Congolian rainforests, so its pr…
See also
• African archaeology
• Australopithecus afarensis – Extinct hominid from the Pliocene of East Africa
• Australopithecus sediba – Two-million-year-old hominin from the Cradle of Humankind
• Homo ergaster – Extinct species or subspecies of archaic human
Further reading
• Broom, R.; Schepers, G. W. H. (1946). The South African Fossil Ape-men: The Australopithecinae. AMS Press. ISBN 978-0-404-15910-8.
External links
• MNSU
• Australopithecus africanus - The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program
• Handprint
• Maropeng - The Cradle of Humankind Official Website