Australopithecus africanus
E128488
Australopithecus africanus is an early hominin species from southern Africa, dating to about 3–2 million years ago, that exhibits a mix of ape-like and human-like traits and is important for understanding human evolution.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Australopithecus africanus canonical | 2 |
| Australopithecus | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
extinct species
ⓘ
hominin species ⓘ |
| bodyHeight | about 1.1–1.4 meters ⓘ |
| bodyMass | about 30–45 kilograms ⓘ |
| class | Mammalia ⓘ |
| cranialCapacity | about 400–500 cubic centimeters ⓘ |
| diet |
included hard or tough foods
ⓘ
mainly plant-based foods ⓘ |
| discoveredBy | Raymond Dart ⓘ |
| ecologicalNiche | mixed woodland and savanna environments ⓘ |
| family | Hominidae ⓘ |
| fossilRecord | numerous cranial and postcranial remains ⓘ |
| fossilSite |
Makapansgat, South Africa
ⓘ
Cradle of Humankind ⓘ
surface form:
Sterkfontein, South Africa
Taung, South Africa ⓘ |
| genus |
Australopithecus africanus
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Australopithecus
|
| geographicDistribution |
Southern Africa
ⓘ
surface form:
southern Africa
|
| importantFor | understanding human evolution ⓘ |
| infraorder | Simiiformes ⓘ |
| kingdom | Animalia ⓘ |
| livedDuring |
Pliocene epoch
ⓘ
surface form:
Pliocene
early Pleistocene ⓘ |
| locomotion |
habitual bipedalism
ⓘ
some climbing ability retained ⓘ |
| nameMeaning | southern ape of Africa ⓘ |
| order | Primates ⓘ |
| parvorder | Catarrhini ⓘ |
| phylum | Chordata ⓘ |
| possiblyAncestralTo | early Homo ⓘ |
| relatedTo | Australopithecus afarensis ⓘ |
| showsTrait |
ape-like cranial features
ⓘ
bipedal locomotion ⓘ curved finger bones ⓘ human-like teeth ⓘ moderate prognathism ⓘ pelvis adapted for bipedalism ⓘ reduced canine teeth compared to apes ⓘ relatively small brain compared to modern humans ⓘ sexual dimorphism in body size ⓘ |
| status | extinct ⓘ |
| subfamily | Homininae ⓘ |
| suborder | Haplorhini ⓘ |
| superfamily | Hominoidea ⓘ |
| taxonRank | species ⓘ |
| temporalRangeEnd | about 2.1 million years ago ⓘ |
| temporalRangeStart | about 3.3 million years ago ⓘ |
| tribe | Hominini ⓘ |
| typeSpecimen | Taung Child ⓘ |
| yearDescribed | 1925 ⓘ |
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Australopithecus