
Australopithecus | Characteristics & Facts | Britannica
Nov 3, 2025 · Australopithecus, group of extinct primates closely related to modern humans and known from fossils from eastern, north-central, and southern Africa. The various species lived 4.4 million to …
Australopithecus - Wikipedia
The fossil record seems to indicate that Australopithecus is ancestral to Homo and modern humans. It was once assumed that large brain size had been a precursor to bipedalism, but the discovery of …
Australopithecus afarensis | The Smithsonian Institution's Human ...
Jan 3, 2024 · Found between 3.85 and 2.95 million years ago in Eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania), this species survived for more than 900,000 years, which is over four times as long as our …
Australopithecus afarensis, Lucy's species | Natural History Museum
Au. afarensis belongs to the genus Australopithecus, a group of small-bodied and small-brained early hominin species (human relatives) that were capable of upright walking but not well adapted for …
Australopithecus
Sep 13, 2025 · Australopithecus is a genus of hominins that existed between approximately 4.2 and 1.2 million years ago [1]. The name, which translates to ‘southern ape’, is derived from the initial …
Australopithecus: Our Ancient Human Ancestor - Biology Insights
Jul 31, 2025 · Australopithecus represents an ancient group of hominins, including modern humans and their immediate ancestors. This genus holds a significant place in understanding human origins, …
Australopithecus: An Overview of Early Human Ancestors
Dec 3, 2023 · Australopithecus is a genus of early hominids that lived from 4.4 million to 1.4 million years ago during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. Known from numerous fossil finds in Africa, …
Australopithecus and Kin | Learn Science at Scitable - Nature
Australopithecus was originally defined by Raymond Dart in 1925 on the basis of a small child’s skull from Taung, South Africa, that was 2-3 million years old.
11. Australopithecus afarensis – The History of Our Tribe: Hominini
Australopithecus afarensis, or the “southern ape from Afar,” is a well-known species due to the famous “Lucy” specimen. It has been extensively studied by numerous famous paleoanthropologists. As …
Australopithecus Facts and Figures - ThoughtCo
May 8, 2025 · Australopithecus was an ancestor of modern humans and lived about two to three million years ago. Australopithecus had a small brain and mainly ate plants, but may have used tools to eat …