Australopithecus sediba

[[File:Skull reconstruction of Australopithecus sediba.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Computer-generated reconstruction of ''A. sediba'']]{{evolution}}
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'''''[[Australopithecus]] sediba''''' was ''possibly'' another [[Transitional_fossil|transitional species]] between [[human]]s and earlier [[ape]]s.

==Bugs and features==
''Sediba'' could likely climb better than later hominids, despite also walking upright.<ref>[http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/australopithecus-sediba Australopithecus Sediba]</ref>

Its brain was relatively small, possibly smaller than average for ''Australopithecus afarensis''.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14824435 African fossils put new spin on human origins story]</ref>

''A. sediba'' had a relatively human-like hand, with a grip which ''may'' indicate tool use.<ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21903806 Australopithecus sediba hand demonstrates mosaic evolution of locomotor and manipulative abilities]</ref><ref>[http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/08/malapa-fossils/fischman-text Part ape, part human.]</ref>

==Human, after all?==
Given the existence of primitive human species such as ''[[Homo floresiensis]]'' and ''[[Homo habilis]]'', both of which display features more primitive than what even ''[[Homo erectus]]'' displays, some have argued that ''Au. sediba'' should be included within the genus ''Homo'',<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/sep/08/australopithecus-sediba-ancestor-modern-humans Australopithecus sediba may be an ancestor of modern humans]</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8750799/Caveman-from-2m-years-ago-may-be-missing-link.html Caveman from 2m years ago may be missing link]</ref> even though ''Au. sediba'' displays traits more reminiscent of the australopithecines than of humans, such as a brain size to body ratio roughly similar to modern [[chimpanzees]].<ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tomchiversscience/100104050/australopithecus-sediba-can-we-stop-calling-it-a-missing-link/ Australopithecus sediba: can we stop calling it a 'missing link?]</ref> However, as mentioned above, the hand grip of ''Au. sediba'' displays features suggesting it was a tool maker, and oddly enough stone tools have been found to predate the appearance of ''Homo'' by almost a million years,<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32804177 "Oldest Stone Tools Predate Earliest Humans"] - [[BBC]]</ref> so the jury's still out on this one. To be frank this entire dispute can go back to the fact that ''Homo'' lacks a precise definition, because when Linnaeus first came up with the genus ''Homo'' he didn't think there would be any new species of human to ever be discovered, since this was before [[Darwin]]'s day.

==External links==
*[http://morphosource.org/index.php/Detail/MediaDetail/Show/media_id/7412 EA-CCC-09, Australopithecus sediba] &mdash; Data from a 3D scan of ''A. sediba'' fossil hand bones

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|Evolution}}

[[Category:Hominids]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Transitional fossils]]
[[Category:Anthropology]]

Categories: Hominids, Biology, Transitional fossils, Anthropology