When was australopithecus robustus found

Learn more. No lower jaw was found with this specimen. Background to discovery. Age Paranthropus walkeri lived between 2. Important fossil discoveries In , a schoolboy found some fossil fragments on a hillside at Kromdraai in South Africa.

This adult skull has been dated between 1. Most of the skull minus the lower jaw is preserved, including the right canine tooth, right first premolar and all three left molars.

This fossil is the most massive example of a jaw from this species. The jaws of this species have very small front teeth incisors and canines compared with extremely large molar teeth.

The molar teeth were very effective for crushing and grinding tough plant foods. This fossil dates to about 2. Found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania in The jaw clearly shows that the front teeth incisors and canines were very small compared with the extremely large molar teeth. This adolescent palate or upper jaw shows the eruption of the last molar teeth. Accurate dates have been difficult to obtain for South African fossils because they lie in cave ground layers that have been disturbed by washed-in sediments and erosion of the cave roof.

Important specimens: Paranthropus boisei L 74 — a 2. Layers of volcanic sediment around this skull have enabled the reliable dating of this fossil. KNM-ER — a 1. This 2. The skull dates to 2. There were problems with classifying this skull when it was first found as it has a mixture of primitive and derived traits. These features were adaptations for heavy chewing. Overview: Paranthropus robustus is an example of a robust australopithecine; they had very large megadont cheek teeth with thick enamel and focused their chewing in the back of the jaw.

How They Survived: Robust species like Paranthropus robustus had large teeth as well as a ridge on top of the skull, where strong chewing muscles attached. Evolutionary Tree Information: From s through s, lots of debate whether this species represented the males of Au.

Below are some of the still unanswered questions about Paranthropus robustus that may be answered with future discoveries : Which species did Paranthropus robustus evolve from? Did P. Bone tools presumably used by P. Was this tool-making, termite-mound-digging behavior something shared by all populations of this species, or was it a regional behavior?

References: First paper: Broom, R. Other recommended readings: Scott, R. SK 48 This Paranthropus robustus skull is likely from a female, because it is smaller in size and has a smaller crest than males of this species. Chickens, chimpanzees, and you - what do they have in common? Grandparents are unique to humans How strong are we? Humans are handy! Humans: the running ape Our big hungry brain! Our eyes say it! The early human tool kit The short-haired human!

What does gut got to do with it? Why do paleoanthropologists love Lucy? Of the former school, some believe that P.

The two species would then have inherited their flexed skull base from Au. Like P. As mentioned in the introduction, Robert Broom discovered the first material at Swartkrans and subsequent specimens at the site of Kromdraai. Andre Keyser discovered the jaw and dental material at Drimolen in Characteristics shared with Au. While P. Their anteriorly oriented orbits and zygomatics reduced the distance between their midface and jaws, making it appear so.

The nasal bones were recessed relative to the forward-oriented zygomatics, so that they too had a somewhat dish-shaped midface like Au. They had less of a forehead than Au.