Australopithecus boisei

Discovery

Paranthropus Boisei was discovered in 1959 by Mary Leaky when she discovered the “Zinj'' skull. The “Zinj'' skull had wide arches that protected the nasal cavities (humanorigins). The first discovery was actually made in 1955, but it wasn’t until Leaky’s discovery that researchers had realized that they discovered a new species. In 1975, another interesting discovery was made. A P. boisei specimen and a H. erectus specimen were discovered in the same stratigraphic layer. This was the first case of a species coexistence (humanorigins). This discovery gave new insight into how Paranthropus Boisei lived and if they ever interacted with other human species. This also opened new doors to how we see human evolution. Human evolution is not just one family tree but a big tree with many branches that all connect in some way.

The Australopithecus boisei was one of the last of their genus; the Australopithecus sediba species existed around the middle of A. boisei, and the Australopithecus robustus was around towards the end of A. boisei.

A skull of Australopithecus boisei, a very old fossil. The face of the skull is very flat, and the cheek bones far more prominent that on a human. The text reads: Australopithecus boisei; Leakey, Tobias, and Napier; KNM er 406; Cranio Maschile; Kobi Fosa, Kenya

Photo by niccosan on Flicker

Features

Australopithecus boisei were more distinctive than other Australopithecines. Everything about them was big, that is, except for their brains. They had big, thick jaws and larger molars and premolars used for heavy duty chewing. However, since their similarity to the teeth of fruit eaters, they might have only ate tough foods when it was deemed necessary. This suggests that they pursued a diet of rough vegetables compared to the more generalized diet of their genus relatives, like A. afarensis and A. africanus who had smaller craniodental features. They additionally had a large skeleton to match their large jaw, being 25 to 50 lbs heavier than other australopithecines, despite them all being similar heights (Australopithecus, 2019).

The Brain

Though they had a quite the small brain, A. boisei is said to be the most adaptable of these creatures. They resided around East Africa in desolate grasslands as well as areas near water. This is compared to the rest of australopithecines that usually occupied woodlands (B.B., 1997).

A commemorative plaque stating: The skull of Australopithecus boisei (Zinjanthropus) was found here by M.D. Leakey July 17th, 1959

Photo by Samantha Groom on Flickr

References

“The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program.” Paranthropus Boisei | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program, humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/paranthropus-boisei.

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