Australopithecine facts for kids

The Australopithecines (say "oss-trah-low-PITH-uh-seens") were a group of early human relatives. They include species from two main groups: Australopithecus and Paranthropus. These ancient beings lived a long, long time ago, during the Pliocene and Pleistocene eras. That's roughly between 5.3 million and 11,700 years ago!

One of the most important things about Australopithecines is that they were bipedal. This means they walked on two legs, just like humans do today. Their teeth were also quite similar to ours, especially how they were arranged. They didn't have the big, pointy canine teeth that modern apes have.

Even though they walked on two legs, their brains weren't much bigger than those of modern apes. They didn't have the large brains that we see in the Homo group (which includes humans). While they mostly walked on the ground, they could probably still climb trees and spend some time living there. Their arms were longer compared to their bodies, which also suggests they were good at moving around above the ground. We don't know for sure how well they walked, but they weren't as good at walking on two legs as modern humans.

Males were much bigger than females. This might mean they lived in family groups with one dominant male and several females, similar to some modern apes. We don't know much about whether they used tools.

Australopithecines are part of a larger group called hominins, which includes humans and all our direct ancestors. They first appeared in Africa.

Main Types of Australopithecines

There are two main groups of Australopithecines:

• Australopithecus: These appeared about four million years ago (mya). They are sometimes called "gracile" (meaning slender or delicate) australopithecines.
• Paranthropus: These appeared later, around 2.7 mya. They are also known as "robust" (meaning strong or sturdy) australopithecines because they had bigger teeth and stronger jaws.

When people use the term "Australopithecine" by itself, they are usually talking about both of these groups together.

Other Early Human Relatives

Scientists have found other ancient human relatives that are related to or lived around the same time as Australopithecines:

• Kenyanthropus: This group lived about 3.5 to 3.2 million years ago. Scientists are still debating if it's a separate type of Australopithecine or just a species within the Australopithecus group.
• Ardipithecus: These lived even earlier, between 5.6 and 4.4 million years ago. They were also hominins from the Miocene era. Ardipithecus had a big toe that could grasp things, which means they could live in trees as well as on the ground. They are sometimes called "facultative bipeds," meaning they could walk on two legs but also climb well.
• Sahelanthropus: This hominin lived about seven million years ago. We are still learning about how it connects to the Australopithecines.
• Orrorin: Found from about 6.1 to 5.7 million years ago, this species is known from only about 20 bone pieces. Its relationship to Australopithecines is not fully clear. Some scientists think Orrorin might be more similar to modern humans than Australopithecus afarensis (like Lucy).

From Australopithecines to Humans

The Ardipithecus genus, found in East Africa, is thought to be a likely ancestor of the Australopithecines.

The Homo genus, which includes modern humans, appeared about 2.4 million years ago with species like Homo habilis. This is when brains started to get much bigger. The Australopithecines did not have this big increase in brain size.

As the climate changed and cooled in the later Miocene era, the Australopithecines moved into new habitats. They started living in mixed savannah (grasslands with scattered trees) and woodland areas. This change in environment helped them adapt to walking more, or walking and climbing. It also led to changes in their diet and teeth.

Well-Known Australopithecine Species

Here are some of the known species within the Australopithecine groups:

• Australopithecus
  • A. afarensis (famous for "Lucy")
  • A. africanus
  • A. anamensis
  • A. bahrelghazali
  • A. garhi
• Paranthropus
  • P. robustus
  • P. boisei
  • P. aethiopicus
• Ardipithecus
  • A. ramidus

See also

In Spanish: Australopithecina para niños