Australopithecus Characteristics

They found that Au. ramidus had very similar characteristics to Sahelanthropus Tchadensis an ancestor that dates to 6-7 million years ago. Ardi had a foot that was primitive and had an opposable big toe which was most likely used to grab on branches. She also had a long and curvy spine just like humans. Its pelvis was large like those of apes and had short and broad shoulders suggesting it had a lower center of mass and could possibly walk on one leg at a time. But it is also thought that it was still spending a lot of time in the trees as well. Thus, why it is thought to be intermediate form of bipedalism it lived in both worlds, walking upright, and climbing trees, equal success in both biospheres. Although Ardi is not the connection to apes it still served to prove that the ancestor of apes was a lot more primitive than we believed. There are still several questions to be answered in this puzzle called our ancestry. It may seem that more questions arise as more clues are found, but that is science, there would be no intrigue left if all questions were

Extinction: Most species become extinct because they can’t cope with the environmental change, and also because of introduced species that turned into competitors for

Afropithecus is a fairly large extinct ape- 50kg, characterized by a lack of a prehensile tail, long snout with procumbent incisors, generalized limb proportions and thick molar enamel. The braincase of Afropithecus is fairly small in size compared to other Miocene apes and Old World Monkeys from the same area. The primitive characteristics of Afropithecus suggest a relation to early catarrhines- such as Aegyptopithecus. And the post-cranial fossil record suggest that it was both arboreal and quadrupedal, similar to the proconsul that Afropithecus is categorized

Another major phenotype to be discussed is the drastically divergent brain size when compared to other Homo species. The LB1 remains contain a cranium with a volume of 380cm3 (Brown, et al.). When this brain size is compared to a modern Homo sapiens volume of approximately 1300cm3 (Cosgrove, et al), the difference is almost laughable. Instead, the LB1 cranial capacity is more analogous with that of genus Australopithecus, at 450cm3 (Roth and Dicke), which would seem to indicate that the brain size of the specimen is primitively determined.

In terms of lower limb proportions comparing Australopithecines and Paranthropus, only a few post cranial remains have been discovered. Comparing the post cranial remains of these genera to those of modern day non-human and human apes can give great insight to the locomotion and stature of Paranthropus and Australopithecines.

However the minority of species that branch off from the human evolutionary tree and are either claimed by extinction or evolved down a second evolutionary branch, and what differences existed in them that differed from our ancestors. The species such as Australopithecus Boisei lived in the same time period to that of Australopithecus Africanus and Aferensis. However based off the information (See research booklet) it I notice that the A. Boisei has a significantly decreased brain to body weight

In this article “A New Kind of Ancestor: Ardipithecus Unveiled”, Ann Gibbon explains the discovery of an international Scientific’s team. This finding is the oldest known human ancestor skeleton and it has 4.4 million years. The Ardipithecus ramidus is the most complete earliest hominin found until now because it has the pelvis, hands, feets and most of the skull and teeth, it is bipedal and its features show a new early hominin, but is still being similar to other species.

The conditions in which bipedal locomotion emerged are still unresolved. However they are all closely dependent on environment reconstructions. This project will contribute to the scientific community's understanding of the environments of the earliest Australopithecine.

All of upright-walking species including us humans, are called hominids, from family Homicide. Australopithecus belongs to the hominid genus that evolved earlier that homo. The hominid family tree is grouped by genus, or related general in the case of the earliest

What evidence shows the changing from the early hominids to the modern humans? Throughout the human evolution body parts like legs and harms have changed for the better. By the early hominids being biped, meaning they are able to stand and even walk on two feet, it helped them to be able to do more things like getting around more and help with their tool making and hunting. A lot of the fossils discovered were found in the Great Rift Valley in East Africa, which contained many different lakes and small rivers. For many years researchers have been finding new species. These species have been named Australopithicus, robust australopithecines , Orrorin tugenensis, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, neanderthal, and Homo sapiens. These early

The species of Australopithecus robustus lived around one to two million years ago in South Africa. The first discovery of this species occurred in 1938, when fossil fragments of a jaw were found at Kromdraai in Southern Africa and presented to Robert Broom. Broom explored the site further and “collected many more bones and teeth that together convinced him he had a new species” (Smithsonian’s National Museum of History). Another well-known site for fossils of this species is the limestone cave of Swartkraans, where the fossil remains of 130 individuals were discovered (Fran and Bexland). The species of Australopithecus robustus and Australopithecus boisei fall under the category of robust Australopithecines, and both share extreme robust cranial and mandibular features. The Australopithecus robustus survived the Plio-Pleistocene, which consisted of woodlands, bushlands, and open grasslands with no lush forests and a patchy distribution of trees. Scientists believe much of their robust cranial and mandibular traits are related to their habitat and diet.

Hominids with a brain absolutely and relatively larger than that of the australopithecines appeared about 2.3 million years ago. These hominids are classified in our own genus: Homo. The earliest species to appear was the Homo Habilis. It was the first of our ancestors to show a significant increase in brain size and also the first to be found associated with stone tools. These characteristics resulted in this species’ placement into the human genus, Homo.

The Australopithecines were the first to walk upright, or became bipedal, although rather clumsily. Their walk was unsteady, judging by their bone structure (Figure 1.), and they most likely were quadrupedal the majority of the time. The Australopithecines had a brain about the size of an orange, high up cheekbones, and big molars. They were about three feet tall, and had small thumbs. Australopithecines, while definitely possessing some human characteristics, humans are still much closer to the chimps. Australopithecines were vegetarians; even if they knew that animals were edible, they still had no reliable means of killing animals for food. About 2 million years ago, highly evolved Australopithecines made the

Australopithecus is a hominid who was short, hairy, and had a limited intelligence. They stood over three feet tall. This hominid weighed about fifty five kilograms. The key for their evolvement was that

Homo Erectus – Came about 500,000 - 750,000 years ago (less apelike; spread throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe)