About 4.4 millions years ago, a different type of primate emerged.
Paleontologists classify the first bipedal primates as hominids.
These first hominids had not yet developed the large brain, teeth structure, and skeletal features we identify as Homo . Instead, they predate, and sometimes overlap the first Homo species. They are known as the australopithecines. It is not known how these species directly affected human evolution. One fork of the tree leads to Homo, the other fork leads to A. africanus, A. boisei and A. robustus .