Fossil material attributed to this hominid — one of the robust australopithecines — range from about 2.4 to 2.7 million years in age. Paranthropus boisei is a species of australopithecine from the Early Pleistocene of East Africa about 2.3 to 1.34 or 1 million years ago. [1] To explain why P. boisei was associated with Oldowan tools despite not being the tool maker, Louis Leakey and colleagues, when describing H. habilis in 1964, suggested that one possibility was P. boisei was killed by H. habilis,[46] perhaps as food. In 1938, Robert Broom discovered the first Paranthropus robustus material at the site of Swartkrans, South Africa. It is dated to about 1.7 million years ago. They were somewhat more encephalized than past species, with a cranial capacity of 514 cc (range = 494–537 cc). Chickens, chimpanzees, and you - what do they have in common? Learn Paranthropus boisei DISC with free interactive flashcards. “Paranthropus boisei” by Lillyundfreya is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. In 1981, Martin applied equations formulated by ecologists Alton S. Harestad and Fred L. Bunnel in 1979 to estimate the home range and population density of large mammals based on weight and diet, and, using a weight of 52.4 kg (116 lb), he got: 130 ha (320 acres) and 0.769 individuals per square kilometre if herbivorous; 1,295 ha (3,200 acres) and 0.077 individuals if omnivorous; and 287,819 ha (711,220 acres) and 0.0004 individuals if carnivorous. The holotype specimen, OH 5, was discovered by palaeoanthropologist Mary Leakey in 1959, and described by her husband Louis a month later. See also. In 1979, a year after describing A. afarensis from East Africa, anthropologists Donald Johanson and Tim D. White suggested that A. afarensis was instead the last common ancestor between Homo and Paranthropus, and A. africanus was the earliest member of the Paranthropus lineage or at least was ancestral to P. robustus, because A. africanus inhabited South Africa before P. robustus, and A. afarensis was at the time the oldest known hominin species at roughly 3.5 million years old. In baboons, this stage occurs when the 1st molar is about to erupt from the gums. [1] In 1965, OH 5 was dated to 1.75 million years ago based on potassium-argon dating of anortoclase crystals from an overlying tuff (volcanic ash) bed. Being cut off from the forests of Central Africa by a savanna corridor, these East African forests would have promoted high rates of endemism, especially during times of climatic volatility. 15th January 2019. P. boisei belongs to just one of the many side branches of human evolution, which most scientists agree includes all Paranthropus species and did not lead to H. sapiens. [14], Such arguments are based on how one draws the hominin family tree, and the exact classification of Australopithecus species with each other is quite contentious. ‘Zinj’ became the type specimen for P. boisei and, soon after, arguably the most famous early human fossil from Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania. [6]:120 The P. boisei skull is heavily built, and features a defined brow ridge, receding forehead, rounded bottom margins of the eye sockets, inflated and concave cheek bones, a thick palate, and a robust and deep jawbone. Alternatively, by multiplying the density of either bovids, elephants, or hippos by the percentage of hominin remains out of total mammal remains found at the formation, Boaz estimated a density of 0.001–2.58 individuals per square kilometre. [6]:108–109 In 1997, the first specimen with both the skull and jawbone (and also one of the largest specimens), KGA10-525, was discovered in Konso. A strong sagittal crest on the midline of the top of the skull anchored the temporalis muscles (large chewing muscles) from the top and side of the braincase to the lower jaw, and thus moved the massive jaw up and down. [6]:116, Instead, the OH 80 femur, more like H. erectus femora, is quite thick, features a laterally flattened shaft, and indicates similarly arranged gluteal, pectineal, and intertrochanteric lines around the hip joint. It is debated if Paranthropus is a valid natural grouping (monophyletic) or an invalid grouping of similar-looking hominins (paraphyletic). Australopithecus boisei Cranium OH 5 (Zinjanthropus) BH-015 $208.00 . However, they still retained Zinjanthropus and recommended demoting it to subgenus level as Australopithecus (Zinjanthropus) boisei, considering Paranthropus to be synonymous with Australopithecus. It was Richard Leakey who stated that Paranthropus boisei was the first hominin species to use stone tools. [2] The remains were clearly australopithecine (not the genus Homo), and at the time, the only australopithecine genera described were Australopithecus by Raymond Dart and Paranthropus (the South African P. robustus) by Robert Broom, and there were arguments that Paranthropus was synonymous with Australopithecus. More finds have confirmed that this species was one of the most prevalent in Eastern Africa during the time period when early members of the genus Homo were also present. ER 406 ER 406 was found by R. Leakey and H. Mutua in 1970 at Koobi Fora, Kenya. [19] Such a strategy is similar to that used by modern gorillas, which can sustain themselves entirely on lower quality fallback foods year-round, as opposed to lighter built chimps (and presumably gracile australopithecines) which require steady access to high quality foods. Robust australopithecines are characterised by heavily built skulls capable of producing high stresses and bite forces, and some of the largest molars with the thickest enamel of any known ape. 1.8 MYA. OH 80 was also associated with Oldowan stone tools. Cranial capacity ranges from 280 to 450 cc in adult chimpanzees, and from 350 to 750 cc in adult gorillas ( Schultz 1965 ). [38] Like modern forest chimps and baboons, australopithecines likely foraged for food in the cooler morning and evening instead of in the heat of the day. In modern apes (including humans), dental development trajectory is strongly correlated with life history and overall growth rate, but it is possible that early hominins simply had a faster dental trajectory but a slower life history due to environmental factors, such as early weaning age as is exemplified in modern indriid lemurs. P. boisei may have been able to make Oldowan stone tools and butcher carcasses. P. boisei was originally believed to have been a specialist of hard foods, such as nuts, due to its heavily built skull, but it was more likely a generalist feeder of predominantly abrasive C4 plants, such as grasses or underground storage organs. Constantino, P., Wood, B., 2007. [36] Since then, hominin exploitation of USOs has gained more support. The Australopithecus boisei skull, is the most famous fossil from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.OH 5 was discovered by Mary Leakey in 1959 and originally classified as Zinjanthropus boisei by L. Leakey in Nature later that year. (Grades 6-8), Comparison of Human and Chimp Chromosomes (Grades 9-12), Hominid Cranial Comparison: The "Skulls" Lab (Grades 9-12), Investigating Common Descent: Formulating Explanations and Models (Grades 9-12). Family: Hominidae. Cranial Capacity: 530 cc. But dental microwear patterns seen on P. boisei teeth are more similar to living fruit-eaters with fine striations, rather than large, deep pits seen in the teeth of living species that eat grass, tough leaves and stems, or other hard, brittle foods. KNM-ER 406 is a nearly complete adult male Paranthropus boisei.It has the facial and cranial features typical of the species such as massive cheek teeth, and the widely flaring zygomatic arches with a forward placed connection to the other facial bones, and large cheek bones supported powerful chewing muscles - the latter two features giving it a "dish-shaped" face. Ungar, P.S., Grine, F.E., Teaford, M.F., 2008. Unlike P. robustus, the arm bones of OH 80 are heavily built, and the elbow joint shows similarities to that of modern gibbons and orangutans. P. boisei commonly ate fruit and other soft foods. Oh 5 was initially assigned to the now defunct species Zinjanthropus boisei by Louis Leakey, who, despite its australopith-like morphologies, maintained his conviction that the Olduvai skull was not Australopithecus because it was found in the same geologic horizon as stone tools. Those features show that Paranthropus boisei likely ate tough foods like roots and nuts. Cranial capacity in this species suggests a slight rise in brain size (about 100 cc in 1 million years) independent of brain enlargement in the genus Homo. Human evolution - Human evolution - Increasing brain size: Because more complete fossil heads than hands are available, it is easier to model increased brain size in parallel with the rich record of artifacts from the Paleolithic Period (c. 3.3 million to 10,000 years ago), popularly known as the Old Stone Age. Estimated Weight: 70 kg. Dimensions: height - 120 - 140 сm, weight - 35 - 50 kg. Was Not smart enough. Sex: Male. [15], Because P. boisei and P. aethiopicus are both known from East Africa and P. aethiopicus is only confidently identified from the skull KNM WT 17000 and a few jaws and isolated teeth, it is debated if P. aethiopicus should be subsumed under P. boisei or if the differences stemming from archaicness justifies species distinction. A new fossil from Olduvai. Boaz believed that hominins would have had about the same population density as other large mammals, which would equate to 0.006–1.7 individuals per square kilometre (0.4 square miles). Further, the size of the sagittal crest (and the gluteus muscles) in male western lowland gorillas has been correlated with reproductive success. Sex: Male. habilis. The 1975 discovery of P. boisei specimen KNM-ER 406 and H. erectus specimen KNM-ER 3733 in the same stratigraphic layer was the first example of species coexistence. In 1975, the P. boisei skull KNM-ER 406 was demonstrated to have been contemporaneous with the H. ergaster skull KNM ER 3733, which is generally taken to show that Paranthropus was a sister taxon to Homo, both developing from some Australopithecus species, which at the time only included A. africanus. While the morphology of P. boisei skull and teeth indicate it could have chewed hard or tough foods, dental microwear analysis does not demonstrate that they regularly did so, suggesting a wider, more diverse diet for P. boisei. [24] Regarding the dural venous sinuses, in 1983, American neuroanthropologist Dean Falk and anthropologist Glenn Conroy suggested that, unlike A. africanus or modern humans, all Paranthropus (and A. afarensis) had expanded occipital and marginal (around the foramen magnum) sinuses, completely supplanting the transverse and sigmoid sinuses. However, remains were not firmly dated, and it was debated if there were indeed multiple hominin lineages or if there was only 1 leading to humans. [22] However, the lower-end specimen, Omo L338‐y6, is a juvenile, and many skull specimens have a highly damaged or missing frontal bone which can alter brain volume estimates. [39], P. boisei coexisted with H. habilis, H. rudolfensis, and H. ergaster / H. erectus, but it is unclear how they interacted. El Paranthropus boisei fue descubierto en 1959 por la antropóloga Mary Leakey en Olduvai, Tanzania. This would leave the Ethiopian A. garhi as the ancestor of P. aethiopicus instead of A. africanus (assuming Paranthropus is monophyletic, and that P. aethiopicus evolved at a time in East Africa when only A. garhi existed there). Palaeoanthropologist Louis Leakey (Mary's husband) believed the skull had a mix of traits from both genera, briefly listing 20 differences, and so used OH 5 as the basis for the new genus and species "Zinjanthropus boisei" on August 15, 1959. Flaring cheekbones gave P. boisei a very wide and dish-shaped face, creating a larger opening for bigger jaw muscles to pass through and support massive cheek teeth four times the size of a modern human’s. (book by Richard Potts and Chris Sloan), What was the advantage of the big jaws and teeth of, These early humans flourished for a million years, over four times as long as our own species. This … [44] During the Pleistocene, there seems to have been coastal and montane forests in Eastern Africa. This could either indicate that P. boisei used a combination of terrestrial walking as well as suspensory behaviour, or was completely bipedal but retained an ape-like upper body condition from some ancestor species due to a lack of selection to lose them. boisei. Broadly speaking, the emergence of the first permanent molar in early hominins has been variously estimated anywhere from 2.5 to 4.5 years of age, which all contrast markedly with the modern human average of 5.8 years. [12], In 1954, Robinson suggested that the heavily built skull of Paranthropus (at the time only including P. robustus) was indicative of a specialist diet specifically adapted for processing a narrow band of foods. [45] Australopithecines and early Homo likely preferred cooler conditions than later Homo, as there are no australopithecine sites that were below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in elevation at the time of deposition. [35], In 1980, anthropologists Tom Hatley and John Kappelman suggested that early hominins (convergently with bears and pigs) adapted to eating abrasive and calorie-rich underground storage organs (USOs), such as roots and tubers. [47] However, when describing P. boisei 5 years earlier, he said, "There is no reason whatever, in this case, to believe that the skull [OH 5] represents the victim of a cannibalistic feast by some hypothetical more advanced type of man. P. boisei mainly inhabited wet, wooded environments, and coexisted with H. habilis, H. rudolfensis, H. ergaster, and H. erectus. KNM-ER 732, a partial cranium of a female Paranthropus boisei has many characteristic P. boisei features. We don’t know everything about our early ancestors—but we keep learning more! However, it is much debated whether or not Paranthropus is an invalid grouping and is synonymous with Australopithecus, so the species is also often classified as Australopithecus aethiopicus. The arm and hand bones of OH 80 and KNM-ER 47000 suggest P. boisei was arboreal to a degree and was possibly capable of manufacturing tools. [9] In 1999, a jawbone was recovered from Malema, Malawi, extending the species' southernmost range over 2,000 km (1,200 mi) from Olduvai Gorge. Among the notable specimens found include the well preserved skull KNM-ER 406 from Koobi Fora in 1970. [10] The hand of KNM-ER 47000 shows Australopithecus-like anatomy lacking the third metacarpal styloid process (which allows the hand to lock into the wrist to exert more pressure), a weak thumb compared to modern humans, and curved phalanges (finger bones) which are typically interpreted as adaptations for climbing. [17] The oldest P. boisei remains date to about 2.3 mya from Malema. But these early humans were also able to crush and grind tough plant foods during difficult times. Earliest known common genetic condition. 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