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| {{italic title}} | |||
| {{Taxobox | |||
| | name = ''Paranthropus''<br />"robust australopithecines" | |||
| | fossil_range = ]-], {{fossilrange|2.7|1.2}} | |||
| | image = Paranthropus-boisei-Nairobi.JPG | |||
| | image_width = 200px | |||
| | image_caption = Skull of ''Paranthropus boisei'' | |||
| | regnum = ]ia | |||
| | phylum = ] | |||
| | classis = ]ia | |||
| | ordo = ]s | |||
| | familia = ] | |||
| | subfamilia = ] | |||
| | tribus = ] | |||
| | subtribus = ] | |||
| | genus = '''''Paranthropus''''' | |||
| | genus_authority = ], 1938 | |||
| | subdivision_ranks = ] | |||
| | subdivision = †'']''<br> †'']''<br> †'']'' | |||
| }} | |||
| '''''Paranthropus''''' (from ] παρα, ''para'' "beside"; άνθρωπος, ''ánthropos'' "human") is a genus of extinct ]s. Also known as '''robust australopithecines''', they were ] hominids that probably descended from the ] hominids ('']'') 2.7 million years ago.<ref name="Dawkins2004">{{cite book | last= Dawkins| first= Richard| title= ]: A Pilgrimage To the Dawn of Life | year= 2004 | publisher= Weidenfeld & Nicolson| location= London | isbn =0-297-82503-8 | page=77}}</ref> Members of this genus are characterised by ] craniodental anatomy, including ]-like ], which suggest strong ], and broad, grinding ] teeth. However, ''Paranthropus'' skulls lack the transverse cranial crests that are also present in modern gorillas. | |||
| == Discovery == | |||
| {{Human timeline}}{{Life timeline}} | |||
| {{unreferenced section|date=September 2011}} | |||
| A partial cranium and mandible of ''Paranthropus robustus'' was discovered in 1938 by a schoolboy, Gert Terblanche, at ] (70 km south west of Pretoria) in South Africa. It was described as a new genus and species by ] of the ]. The site has been excavated since 1993 by Francis Thackeray of the Transvaal Museum. A date of at least 1.95 million years has been obtained for Kromdraai B. | |||
| ''Paranthropus boisei'' was discovered by ] on July 17, 1959, at the FLK Bed I site of ] in ] (specimen ]). Mary was working alone, as ] was ill in camp. She rushed back to camp and, at the news, Louis made a remarkable recovery. They refrained from excavating until Des Bartlett had photographed the site. | |||
| In his notes Louis recorded a first name, ''Titanohomo mirabilis'', reflecting an initial impression of close human affinity. Louis and Mary began to call it "Dear Boy". Recovery was halted on August 7. ''Dear Boy'' was found in context with ] tools and animal bones. | |||
| ]'' reconstruction.]] | |||
| ], found by ].]] | |||
| The fossil was published in '']'' dated August 15, 1959, but due to a strike of the printers the issue was not released until September. In it Louis placed the fossil in ]'s Australopithecinae family, creating a new genus for it, ''Zinjanthropus'', species ''boisei''. "]" is an ancient Arabic word for the coast of East Africa and "boisei" referred to ], an anthropological benefactor of the Leakeys. Louis based his classification on twenty differences from '']''. | |||
| Broom had died in 1951 but ] was still living. He is said to have wept for joy on Louis' behalf on being personally shown Zinj, which Louis and Mary carried around in a tin (later a box). Louis had considered Broom's ''Paranthropus'' genus, but rejected it because he believed Zinj was in the ''Homo'' ancestral stock but ''Paranthropus'' was not. He relied heavily on the larger size of Zinj's canines. | |||
| At that time palaeoanthropology was in an overall mood to lump and was preaching against splitting. Consequently, the presentation of Zinj during the Fourth Pan-African Congress of Prehistorians in July in the then ], at which Louis was forced to read the delayed ''Nature'' article, nearly came to grief for Louis over the creation of a new genus. Dart rescued him with the now famous joke, "... what would have happened if ] had met Dear Boy one dark night." | |||
| The battle of the name raged on for many years and drove a wedge between Louis and Sir Wilfrid ], from 1955, who took the ''Paranthropus'' view. On the other hand, it brought the Leakeys and Dr. ] of the ] together. The Leakeys became international figures and had no trouble finding funds from then on. The Zinj question ultimately became part of the ''Australopithecus''/''Paranthropus'' question (which only applied to the robust Australopithecines). | |||
| == Description == | |||
| All species of ''Paranthropus'' were bipedal, and many lived during a time when species of the genus '']'' (which were possibly descended from ''Australopithecus''), were prevalent. ''Paranthropus'' first appeared roughly 2.7 million years ago. Most species of ''Paranthropus'' had a ] about 40 percent of the size of a modern ]. There was some size variation between the different species of ''Paranthropus'', but most stood roughly 1.3-1.4 m (4 ft 3 in to 4 ft 7 in) tall and were quite well muscled. ''Paranthropus'' is thought to have lived in wooded areas rather than the grasslands of ''Australopithecus''.{{citation needed|date=October 2010}} | |||
| ''Paranthropus'' is thought to be bipedal based on its anatomical structure in its hips, legs, and feet that resemble both its ancestor, '']'', and modern humans.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Wood B, Richmond BG |title=Human evolution: taxonomy and paleobiology |journal=Journal of Anatomy |volume=197 |issue=1 |pages=19–60 |date=July 2000 |pmid=10999270 |pmc=1468107 |doi=10.1046/j.1469-7580.2000.19710019.x}}</ref> The pelvis is similar to ''A. afarensis'' but the hip joint, including the femoral head and acetabulum are smaller in ''Paranthropus''. The similar hip structure between ''A. afarensis'' and ''Paranthropus'' implies that they had a similar walking gait, and that ''Paranthropus'' moved like the "gracile australopiths".<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Macchiarelli R, Bondioli L, Galichon V, Tobias PV |title=Hip bone trabecular architecture shows uniquely distinctive locomotor behaviour in South African australopithecines |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=211–32 |date=February 1999 |pmid=10068067 |doi=10.1006/jhev.1998.0267}}</ref> They show anatomical similarity to modern humans in the big toe of their foot and their well developed plantar aponeurosis. The hallux metatarsal shows increased base for more internal support, and more distal articular surface which causes more connection and support to the other bones in the foot.<ref name=Wood /> The extra support in the big toe and extensive plantar aponeurosis shows that ''Paranthropus'' had hyperextension of their toes for a "toe-off" gait cycle, characteristic of modern bipedalism in humans. | |||
| The behavior of ''Paranthropus'' was quite different from that of the genus ''Homo'', in that it was not as adaptable to its environment or as resourceful{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}. Evidence of this exists in the form of its physiology which was specifically tailored to a diet of grubs and plants. This would have made it more reliant on favorable environmental conditions than members of the genus ''Homo'', such as '']'', which would eat a much wider variety of foods. Therefore, because it was a specialist species, it had more difficulty adapting to a changing climate, leading to its extinction. | |||
| == Disputed taxonomy == | |||
| ] | |||
| Evolutionary biologist ] notes "perhaps several different species" of robust hominids, and "as usual their affinities, and the exact number of species, are hotly disputed. Names that have been attached to various of these creatures...are ''Australopithecus'' (or ''Paranthropus'') ''robustus'', ''Australopithecus'' (or ''Paranthropus'' or ''Zinjanthropus'') ''boisei'', and ''Australopithecus'' (or ''Paranthropus'') ''aethiopicus''."<ref name=Dawkins2004/> | |||
| Opinions differ whether the species ''P. aethiopicus, P. boisei'' and ''P. robustus'' should be included within the genus '']''. The emergence of the robusts could be either a display of divergent or convergent evolution. There is currently no consensus in the scientific community whether ''P. aethiopicus, P. boisei'' and ''P. robustus'' should be placed into a distinct genus, ''Paranthropus'', which is believed to have evolved from the ancestral ''Australopithecus'' line. Up until the last half-decade{{When|date=May 2014}}, the majority of the scientific community included all the species of both ''Australopithecus'' and ''Paranthropus'' in a single genus. Currently, both taxonomic systems are used and accepted in the scientific community. However, although ''Australopithecus robustus'' and ''Paranthropus robustus'' are used interchangeably for the same specimens, some researchers, beginning with Robert Broom, and continuing with people such as Bernard A. Wood, think that there is a difference between ''Australopithecus'' and ''Paranthropus'', and that there should be two genera.<ref name="humanbiology3rded">{{cite book|title= Human Biology: An introduction to human evolution, variation, growth, and adaptability | author=Pilbeam, D.R | chapter=Hominid evolution | editors= Harrison, G.A., Tanner, J.M., Pilbeam, D.R., & Baker, P.T.| year=1988 | publisher= Oxford University Press | location = Oxford, U.K. | isbn=0-19-854144-9| pages=104–143}} Also ISBN 0-19-854143-0 (paperback)</ref><ref name="encylopediahumanevolution">{{cite book|title= The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution | author=Wood, B.A. | chapter=Evolution of australopithecines | editors=Steve Jones, Robert Martin & David Pilbeam | year=1994 | publisher= Cambridge University Press | location= Cambridge |isbn=0-521-32370-3 | pages=231–240}} Also ISBN 0-521-46786-1 (paperback)</ref> | |||
| == Occurrence == | |||
| ]'' skull replica.]] | |||
| For the most part the ''Australopithecus'' species '']'', '']'', and '']'' either disappeared from the fossil record before the appearance of early humans or seem to have been the ancestors of ''Homo habilis'', yet ''P. boisei'' and ''P. aethiopicus'' continued to evolve along a separate path distinct and unrelated to early humans. ''Paranthropus'' shared the earth with some early examples of the ''Homo'' genus, such as ''H. habilis'', '']'', and possibly even '']''.<ref name=Wood>{{cite journal |author1=Wood, B. |author2=Strait, D. |lastauthoramp=yes | year = 2004 | title = Patterns of resource use in early Homo and Paranthropus | journal = Journal of Human Evolution | volume = 46 | pages = 119–162 | doi = 10.1016/j.jhevol.2003.11.004 | pmid = 14871560 | issue = 2}}</ref> | |||
| ''Australopithecus afarensis'' and ''A. anamensis'' had, for the most part, disappeared by this time. There were also significant morphological differences between ''Australopithecus'' and ''Paranthropus'', although the differences were found on the cranial remains. The postcranial remains were still very similar. ''Paranthropus'' was more massively built craniodentally and tended to sport ]-like ]s on the cranium which anchored massive temporalis muscles of mastication.<ref name="Wood"/> | |||
| == Intelligence == | |||
| {{Further|Evolution of human intelligence}} | |||
| Species of ''Paranthropus'' had smaller braincases than ''Homo'', yet they had significantly larger braincases than ''Australopithecus''. ''Paranthropus'' is associated with stone tools both in southern and eastern Africa, although there is considerable debate whether they were made and utilized by these robust australopithecines or contemporaneous ''Homo''. Most believe that early ''Homo'' was the tool maker,<ref name=Klein>{{cite book | author = Klein, R. | year = 1999 | title = The Human Career | publisher = University of Chicago Press}}{{page needed|date=June 2014}}</ref> but hand fossils from ], South Africa, indicate that the hand of ''Paranthropus robustus'' was also adapted for precision grasping and tool use.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Susman RL |title=Hand of Paranthropus robustus from Member 1, Swartkrans: fossil evidence for tool behavior |journal=Science |volume=240 |issue=4853 |pages=781–4 |date=May 1988 |pmid=3129783 |doi=10.1126/science.3129783}}</ref> | |||
| Most ''Paranthropus'' species seem almost certainly not to have used ] nor to have controlled ], although they are directly associated with the latter at Swartkrans.<ref name=Klein/> | |||
| == Diet == | |||
| In 2011 Thure E. Cerling of the University of Utah and colleagues, published a study in the '']''<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Cerling TE, Mbua E, Kirera FM, etal |title=Diet of Paranthropus boisei in the early Pleistocene of East Africa |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=108 |issue=23 |pages=9337–41 |date=June 2011 |pmid=21536914 |pmc=3111323 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1104627108}}</ref> of their work with the carbon isotopes in the enamel of 24 teeth from 22 ''Paranthropus'' individuals who lived in East Africa between 1.4 million and 1.9 million years ago. Their results suggest that ''Paranthropus boisei'' dined more heavily on ] plants than any other human ancestor or human relative studied to date.<ref>Associated Press report. Study: Ancient 'Nutcracker Man' really ate grass https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110502/ap_on_sc/us_sci_nutcracker_man</ref> | |||
| ==Development relative to other Hominin species== | |||
| {{Hominin species during Pleistocene}} | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| {{portal|Paleontology}} | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] ''(with images)'' | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| <!-- Please inline this reference | |||
| * from ''The Human Origins Program at the ]'' | |||
| --> | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{wiktionary}} | |||
| {{wikispecies}} | |||
| {{Wikibooks|Introduction to Paleoanthropology}} | |||
| * {{cite web | |||
| | url = http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/users/haaramo/Metazoa/Deuterostoma/Chordata/synapsida/Eutheria/Primates/Hominoidea/Hominidae.htm | |||
| | title = Hominidae | |||
| | work = ] | |||
| }} | |||
| * {{cite web | |||
| | url = http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/a_tree.html | |||
| | title = Early Human Phylogeny | |||
| | publisher = ] | |||
| }} | |||
| * {{cite web | |||
| | url = http://www.humboldt.edu/~mrc1/paranthro.shtml | |||
| | title = Paranthropus | |||
| | work = Human Evolution—A Look At Our Ancestors | |||
| | publisher = ] | |||
| }} | |||
| * {{cite journal | |||
| | url = http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18124342.700-what-killed-paranthropus.html | |||
| | title = What Killed Paranthropus? | |||
| | journal = ] | |||
| | issue = 2434 | |||
| | date = 2004-02-14 | |||
| | format = Abstract | |||
| }} | |||
| * – ], ] (August 2016). | |||
| {{Human Evolution}} | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||