What are some fun facts about Australopithecus?
Australopithecus is a genus of extinct hominids closely related to humans. The first Australopithecus described was the Taung Child, discovered by Raymond Dart, and described in 1925. Their remains are mostly found in East Africa, and the first fossil is from 3.9 million years ago (mya).
What is the oldest australopithecine fossil?
Lucy was discovered in 1974 in Africa, at Hadar, a site in the Awash Valley of the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia, by paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The Lucy specimen is an early australopithecine and is dated to about 3.2 million years ago.
Who discovered the fossils of Australopithecus?
A new species name, Australopithecus afarensis, was therefore created for them in 1978. This species is now represented by several hundred fossils from east Africa. ‘Lucy’ AL 288-1 – a partial skeleton discovered in 1974 by Donald Johanson in Hadar, Ethiopia.
What are 2 facts about 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.
How did Australopithecus go extinct?
Perhaps the increased severity of droughts during glacial maxima caused the extinction of the robust australopithecines. There is evidence that Australopithecus africanus persisted to about 2.3 Ma (Delson, 1988), but we do not now know for sure that it survived beyond the origin of Homo at about 2.4 Ma.
How old is Australopithecus?
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 did Australopithecus do?
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.
What did Australopithecus eat?
Au. afarensis had mainly a plant-based diet, including leaves, fruit, seeds, roots, nuts, and insects… and probably the occasional small vertebrates, like lizards.
How many species of Australopithecus are there?
At least seven species of australopithecines are now generally recognized, including Australopithecus afarensis, A. africanus, A. bahrelghazali, A. anamensis, A.
How did Australopithecus get its name?
Discovered in 1924, the Taung Child was the first evidence of early human species in Africa. The name Australopithecus africanus literally means ‘southern ape of Africa. ‘ It was named for the fact that it lived in modern-day South Africa.
Where was the first Australopithecus fossil found?
Australopithecus. The first Australopithecus described was the Taung Child, discovered by Raymond Dart, and described in 1925. Their remains are mostly found in East Africa, and the first fossil is from 3.9 million years ago (mya). The split from other apes would have taken place earlier, perhaps about 5 mya.
How big was the brain of an Australopithecus?
Gracile australopithecines shared several traits with modern apes and humans. They were widespread throughout Eastern and Northern Africa 3.9 to 3 million years ago. The brains of most species of Australopithecus were roughly 35% of the size of that of a modern human brain.
What did the Australopithecus afarensis look like?
Dating to about 3.5 million years ago, A. afarensis was about the size of a grade-schooler; its “human-like” traits included a bipedal posture and a brain slightly bigger than a chimpanzee’s, but it still possessed a distinctly chimp-like face.
How many species of australopithes are there in the world?
The general term australopith (or australopithecine) is used informally to refer to members of the genus Australopithecus. 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.