Australopithecus africanus
Austalopithecus africanus (abbreviated A. africanus) is an extinct hominid. Based on current data, A. africanus existed between 3.03 and 2.04 million years ago.[1]
| Australopithecus africanus Temporal range: Pliocene
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| Natural endocranial cast (485 cm3) (Sts 60), articulated with a fragmentary skull still embedded in breccia (TM 1511) | |
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| †Australopithecus africanus Dart, 1925
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Discovery
The first A. africanus fossil was discovered by Raymond Dart in 1925. He found the well-preserved skull of an australopithecine who was three to four years old. This skull is often called the Taung Child after Taung, South Africa, where it was found. It is perhaps the most complete skull of A. africanus known to exist.[2]
Description
A. africanus had a dish-shaped facial structure with teeth that were larger than modern humans'. While its front teeth were larger than its back teeth, the emphasis was on back tooth grinding.
Males had a sagital crest on the tops of their skulls. Large muscles were attached to this ridge that helped to support the heavy jaw.[3]
Australopithecus Africanus Media
Cast of Taung child from the collection of the University of the Witwatersrand
Mrs. Ples at the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria
Locations of A. africanus discoveries
Reconstructed skull of Mrs. Ples at the Beijing Museum of Natural History
Australopithecus africanus, partial skeleton, (Sts 14) Sterkfontein, 1947
Australopithecus africanus pelvis and vertebrae at the American Museum of Natural History
Taung child skull noting raptor-inflicted damage to the eye sockets
Related pages
References
- ↑ Herries A.I.R. et al 2010. Geochronology and palaeoenvironments of the South African early hominin bearing sites: a reply to ‘Wrangham et al., 2009: Shallow-water habitats as sources of fallback foods for hominins’ Am. J. Phys. Anthro. 143, 640–646
- ↑ Leakey, Richard 1994. The origin of humankind. New York: BasicBooks. ISBN 0465031358
- ↑ Wood B.A. 1994. Evolution of australopithecines. In Jones S. Martin R. & Pilbeam D. (eds) 2004. The Cambridge encyclopedia of human evolution. 8th ed, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-46786-1