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.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

 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.Leakey, Richard 1994. The origin of humankind. New York: BasicBooks.  

 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.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. 

Related pages
 Taung Child
 Human evolution

 References 

Category:Australopithecines