Hi, welcome to Enchiridion. I am honored to provide these facts on Australopithecus.

Australopithecus, meaning “southern ape”, was an early hominin that existed in Africa during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genera Homo, which includes modern humans, Paranthropus, and Kenyanthropus evolved from Australopithecus. In other words, Australopithecus were primates closely related to, if not actually ancestors of, modern human beings. Australopithecus is a member of the subtribe Australopithecina, which also includes Ardipithecus, though the term “australopithecine” is sometimes used to refer only to members of Australopithecus. Species are numerous, and include Australopithecus garhi, Australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus sediba, Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus anamensis, Australopithecus bahrelghazali, and Australopithecus deyiremeda. There is debate as to whether some Australopithecus species should be reclassified into new genera, or if Paranthropus and Kenyanthropus are synonymous with Australopithecus, in part because of the taxonomic inconsistency.

Australopithecus is known from a series of fossils found at numerous sites in eastern, north-central, and southern Africa. The earliest known member of the genus, Australopithecus anamensis, existed in eastern Africa around 4.2 million years ago. Australopithecus fossils become more widely dispersed throughout eastern and southern Africa, with the Chadian Australopithecus bahrelghazali indicating the genus was much more widespread than the fossil record suggests, before eventually becoming extinct 1.9 million years ago, or 1.2 million to 600,000 years ago if Paranthropus is included, during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. 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 some time between 3 and 2 million years ago. Perhaps the most famous specimen of Australopithecus is “Lucy,” an extremely well-preserved fossilized skeleton from Ethiopia that has been dated to 3.2 million years ago.

Australopithecus anamensis may have descended from or was closely related to Ardipithecus ramidus. Australopithecus anamensis shows some similarities to both Ardipithecus ramidus and Sahelanthropus.Looking back millions of years, to the age of Australopiths, no one would have expected for this hominin lineage to thrive — they were short and slow, and probably made prime targets for predators. They lacked advantages of later hominins — big brains, advanced weapons, and fire — as well as defenses of earlier, more ape-like ancestors including large canine teeth and tree-climbing abilities.

We, Homo sapiens are here today due to the survival of one of those lineages. Australopithecus. Small. Slow. Diverse. Sexually Dimorphic. And a crucial transitional piece of early human history.

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#Enchiridion #PrehistoricBeasts #Australopithecus #Paleoanthropology

Table of Contents:
0:00 - Introductory Story
1:15 - Introduction
4:21 - Taxonomy; Research History
7:11 - Evolution
9:18 - Anatomy & Biology
12:55 - Diet
15:50 - Technology
16:34 - Naming
16:48 - Named By
16:59 - Scientific Classification
19:10 - Taxonomy; Classification
20:48 - Species
21:15 - Diet
21:24 - Size
21:35 - Brain size
21:48 - Weight
22:01 - Known Locations
22:23 - Time Period
22:31 - Fossil Representation; Notable Specimens
23:48 - KT-12/H1, Australopithecus bahrelghazali
24:45 - Karabo, Australopithecus sediba
26:22 - Laetoli footprints, possibly by Australopithecus afarensis
27:36 - AL129-1, Australopithecus afarensis
29:14 - Lucy, Australopithecus afarensis
30:14 - Selam, Australopithecus afarensis or Australopithecus africanus
31:00 - STS 5 (Mrs. Ples), Australopithecus africanus
31:58 - STS 14, Australopithecus africanus
32:47 - STS 71, Australopithecus africanus
33:21 - Taung Child, Australopithecus africanus
33:54 - Popular Culture
34:44 - Conclusion
36:40 - Outro
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Sources:
Australopithecus to homo: Transformations in body and mind ... (n.d.). Retrieved December 18, 2021, from [ Ссылка ] Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Australopithecus. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from [ Ссылка ] genus australopithecus. (n.d.). Retrieved December 18, 2021, from [ Ссылка ], Y., Melillo, S. M., Vazzana, A., Benazzi, S., & Ryan, T. M. (2019, August 28). A 3.8-million-year-old hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. Nature News. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from [ Ссылка ]

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