Paranthropus (all species)

[arctozilla]

The Paranthropus was a distant relative of humans and Australopithecus. They lived between the Neogene and Quaternary period in Africa.

[arctozilla]

Info from BBC Walking with Cavemen.

[Gorilla king]

Paranthropus genus




The genus Paranthropus currently includes three species, Paranthropus boisei, Paranthropus robustus, and Paranthropus aethiopicus. They are collectively known as the ‘robusts’ because of their extremely large jaws and molar teeth. They are our distant ‘cousins’ rather than our direct relatives.

Background to discovery
Age
Paranthropus aethiopicus lived between 2.3 and 2.7 million years ago. Paranthropus boisei and Paranthropus robustus lived between 1.0 and 2.3 million years ago.

3D interactive model of (Paranthropus aethiopicus)) skull cast


Important fossil discoveries
In 1938, a schoolboy found some fossil fragments on a hillside at Kromdraai in South Africa. The fossils were brought to the attention of Robert Broom from the Transvaal Museum and Broom soon located more fragments, all from the same skull. Unique features of the skull included particularly large premolar and molar teeth and a robust or strongly built lower jaw, so Broom announced it as a new species Paranthropus robustus.

The first Paranthropus discovery in east Africa was made in 1959 by Mary Leakey. Since then, more than 300 Paranthropus fossils have been uncovered and three species are now included in the group.




australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/paranthropus-species/

[Gorilla king]

2-Million-Year-Old Skull of Paranthropus robustus Suggests Climate Change Drove Rapid Changes



The DNH 155 cranium of Paranthropus robustus photographed in frontal (a), left lateral (b), superior (c) and oblique (d) views. Scale bar – 10 mm. Image credit: Martin et al., doi: 10.1038/s41559-020-01319-6


www.sci.news/othersciences/anthropology/dnh-155-paranthropus-robustus-09035.html

[Gorilla king]

How did Paranthropus, the last of the ape-people, survive for so long?

Paranthropus was an ape-like hominin that lived on in a world dominated by big-brained early humans. Recent archaeological discoveries, like stone tools, are revealing how they lived


www.newscientist.com/article/mg26034660-800-how-did-paranthropus-the-last-of-the-ape-people-survive-for-so-long/