Australopithecine

Australopithecine refers to a group of extinct hominin species that existed between approximately 4.2 and 1.2 million years ago. The term "Australopithecine" comes from the Latin australis meaning "southern", and pithecus meaning "ape". These species are significant in human evolution as they are among the earliest hominins to show evidence of bipedalism.

Characteristics

Australopithecines were generally more similar to humans than to apes. They had a more upright posture and were capable of walking on two legs, a trait known as bipedalism. However, they also retained many ape-like features, such as a small brain size and a body adapted for climbing trees.

A reconstruction of Australopithecus afarensis, one of the best-known australopithecines.

Species

Several species of australopithecines have been identified, including:

• Australopithecus afarensis: Known from fossils found in Eastern Africa, this species lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis is best known from the fossil nicknamed "Lucy", a 40% complete skeleton discovered in 1974.
• Australopithecus africanus: This species lived in Southern Africa between 3.3 and 2.1 million years ago. A. africanus was the first australopithecine species to be discovered, with the first specimen, the Taung Child, found in 1924.
• Australopithecus sediba: Discovered in 2008 in South Africa, A. sediba lived around 2 million years ago and is thought to be a possible ancestor of the genus Homo.

Evolutionary Significance

Australopithecines are considered significant in the study of human evolution due to their combination of ape-like and human-like characteristics. They are thought to represent a transitional stage between the quadrupedal locomotion of apes and the bipedalism of humans. The discovery of australopithecine fossils has greatly contributed to our understanding of early human evolution and the development of traits such as bipedalism and increased brain size.

See Also

• Human evolution
• Hominin
• Bipedalism