View source for Australopithecine

{{for|the member tribe|Australopithecus}}
{{Short description|Extinct subtribe of the Hominini tribe, and members of the human clade}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Australopithecines
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|6.1|0|[[Late Miocene]]–[[Holocene|Present]], 6.1 – 0 Mya|earliest=7.2|PS=(Range includes humans ([[Homo]])) }}
| image = Australopithecus sediba.JPG
| image_caption = ''[[Australopithecus sediba]]''
| taxon = Australopithecina
| authority = [[William King Gregory|Gregory]] & Hellman, 1939
| type_species = {{extinct}}''[[Australopithecus africanus]]''
| type_species_authority = Dart, 1925
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = *''[[Australopithecus]]'' ([[cladistically]] including 
**''[[Homo]]'' 
**''[[Kenyanthropus]]'' 
**''[[Paranthropus]]'')
*''[[Praeanthropus]]'' (sometimes used)
*''[[Ardipithecus]]'' <small>(debated{{Sfn|Stanford|2012|p=}})</small>
*''[[Orrorin]]'' <small>(most likely)</small>
*''[[Sahelanthropus]]'' <small>(possibly)</small>
| synonyms = Hominina <small>Gray 1825</small><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gray|first=J. E.|date=1825|title=An outline of an attempt at the disposition of Mammalia into Tribes and Families, with a list of genera apparently appertaining to each Tribe.|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2531525#page/353/mode/1up|journal=Annals of Philosophy |series=New Series|volume=10|pages=337–340}}</ref> sensu <small>Andrew & Harrison 2005</small><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Andrews |first1=Peter |last2=Harrison |first2=Terry |date=2005-01-01 |title=The Last Common Ancestor of Apes and Humans |url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789047416616/B9789047416616_s013.xml |journal=Interpreting the Past |language=en |pages=103–121 |doi=10.1163/9789047416616_013|isbn=9789047416616 |s2cid=203884394 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
}}

The '''australopithecines''' ({{IPAc-en|ɔː|ˈ|s|t|r|eɪ|l|oʊ|'|p|ɪ|θ|ə|s|aɪ|n|z}}), formally '''Australopithecina''' or '''Hominina''', are generally any species in the related [[Genus|genera]] of ''[[Australopithecus]]'' and ''[[Paranthropus]]''. It may also include members of ''[[Kenyanthropus]]'',{{Sfn|Wood|2010|p=}} ''[[Ardipithecus]]'',{{Sfn|Wood|2010|p=}} and ''[[Australopithecus|Praeanthropus]]''.{{Sfn|Cela-Conde|Ayala|2003|p=}} The term comes from a former classification as members of a distinct subfamily, the Australopithecinae.{{Sfn|Kottak|2004|p=}} They are classified within the '''Australopithecina''' subtribe of the [[Hominini]] [[Tribe (biology)|tribe]].{{Sfn|Wood|Richmond|2000|p=}}{{Sfn|Briggs|Crowther|2008|p=124}} These related species are sometimes{{dubious|reason=academic source from 2010 states that Australopiths were "formerly known as the australopithecines", suggesting that Austalopith is now the dominant term|date=August 2021}} collectively termed '''australopithecines''', '''australopiths''', or '''homininians'''. They are the extinct, close relatives of modern humans and, together with the extant genus ''[[Homo]]'', comprise the human [[clade]]. There is no general agreement to whether australopithecines are closest relatives of modern humans, as it has been argued that they are more closely related to extant African apes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vaneechoutte |first1=M.|last2=Mansfield |first2=F. |last3=Munro |first3=S. |last4=Verhaegen |first4=M. |date=2024 |title=Have we been barking up the wrong ancestral tree? Australopithecines are probably not our ancestors. |journal=Nature Anthropol |volume=2 |pages=1007 |doi=10.35534/natanthropol.2023.10007|hdl=1854/LU-01HQQXVEJ8DHYKK9CD10JJY4MT |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Members of the human clade, i.e. the Hominini after the split from the chimpanzees, are called Hominina<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/G204/lectures/204scatterlings.html|title=GEOL 204 The Fossil Record: The Scatterlings of Africa: the Origins of Humanity|website=www.geol.umd.edu|access-date=24 December 2016}}</ref> (''see Hominidae; [[Hominidae#Terminology|terms "hominids" and hominins]]'').

While none of the groups normally directly assigned to this group survived, the australopithecines do not appear to be literally extinct (in the sense of having no living descendants) as the genera ''Kenyanthropus'', ''Paranthropus'', and ''[[Homo]]'' probably emerged as sisters of a late ''Australopithecus'' species such as ''[[Australopithecus africanus|A. africanus]]'' and/or ''[[A. sediba]]''.

The terms australopithecines, et. al., come from a former classification as members of a distinct subfamily, the Australopithecinae.{{Sfn|Kottak|2004|p=}} Members of ''Australopithecus'' are sometimes referred to as the "gracile australopithecines", while ''Paranthropus'' are called the "robust australopithecines".{{Sfn|Mai|Owl|Kersting|2005|p=}}<ref name="Szpak2007">{{cite web | title = Evolution of the Australopithecines | last = Szpak | first = P. | year = 2007 | publisher = Tree of Life | url = http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=4438}}</ref>

The australopithecines occurred in the [[Late Miocene]] sub-epoch and were [[bipedal]], and they were dentally similar to humans, but with a brain size not much larger than that of modern non-human [[ape]]s, with lesser [[encephalization]] than in the genus ''Homo''.{{Sfn|Mai|Owl|Kersting|2005|p=45}} Humans (genus ''Homo'') may have descended from australopithecine ancestors and the [[genera]] ''[[Ardipithecus]]'', ''[[Orrorin]]'', ''[[Sahelanthropus]]'', and ''[[Graecopithecus]]'' are the possible ancestors of the australopithecines.<ref name="Szpak2007" />
{{Human timeline}}

== Classification ==
Classification of subtribe Australopithecina according to {{Harvnb|Briggs|Crowther|2008|p=124}}.
*Australopithecina 
**''[[Australopithecus]]''
***''[[Australopithecus africanus]]''
***''[[Australopithecus deyiremeda]]''
***''[[Australopithecus garhi]]''
***''[[Australopithecus sediba]]''
***''[[Australopithecus afarensis]]'' (=''Praeanthropus afarensis'')
***''[[Australopithecus anamensis]]'' (=''Praeanthropus anamensis'')
***''[[Australopithecus bahrelghazali]]'' (=''Praeanthropus bahrelghazali'')
**''[[Paranthropus]]''
***''[[Paranthropus robustus]]''
***''[[Paranthropus boisei]]''
***''[[Paranthropus aethiopicus]]''
**''[[Ardipithecus]]''
***''[[Ardipithecus ramidus]]''
***''[[Ardipithecus kadabba]]''
**''[[Orrorin]]''
***''[[Orrorin tugenensis]]''
**''[[Sahelanthropus]]''
***''[[Sahelanthropus tchadensis]]''


=== Phylogeny ===
Phylogeny of Hominina/Australopithecina according to Dembo ''et al''. (2016).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dembo|first1=Mana|last2=Radovčić|first2=Davorka|last3=Garvin|first3=Heather M.|last4=Laird|first4=Myra F.|last5=Schroeder|first5=Lauren|last6=Scott|first6=Jill E.|last7=Brophy|first7=Juliet|last8=Ackermann|first8=Rebecca R.|last9=Musiba|first9=Chares M.|last10=de Ruiter|first10=Darryl J.|last11=Mooers|first11=Arne Ø.|date=2016-08-01|title=The evolutionary relationships and age of Homo naledi: An assessment using dated Bayesian phylogenetic methods|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248416300100|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|language=en|volume=97|pages=17–26|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.04.008|pmid=27457542|bibcode=2016JHumE..97...17D |issn=0047-2484|hdl=2164/8796|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
{{clade
   |1=''[[Sahelanthropus|Sahelanthropus tchadensis]]''
   |2={{clade
      |1=''[[Ardipithecus]]''
      |2={{clade
         |1=''[[Australopithecus anamensis]]''
         |2={{clade
            |1={{clade
               |1=''[[Australopithecus afarensis]]''
               |2=''[[Australopithecus garhi]]''}}
            |2={{clade
               |1=''[[Kenyanthropus|Kenyanthropus platyops]]''
               |2={{clade
                  |1={{clade
                     |1=''[[Plesianthropus transvaalensis]]'' (''[[Australopithecus africanus]]'')
                     |2={{clade
                        |1=''[[Paranthropus aethiopicus]]''
                        |2={{clade
                           |1=''[[Paranthropus robustus]]''
                           |2=''[[Paranthropus boisei]]''}} }} }}
                  |2=''[[Homo]]'' (including [[Australopithecus sediba|"Australopithecus" ''sediba'']])
}} }} }} }} }} }}

== Physical characteristics ==
The post-cranial remains of australopithecines show they were adapted to [[bipedal locomotion]], but did not walk identically to humans. They had a forearm to upper arm ratio similar to the ''[[Golden ratio|Golden Ratio]]''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Nan |last2=Ma |first2=Jie |last3=Jin |first3=Dan |last4=Yu |first4=Bin |date=2017-01-23 |title=A Special Golden Curve in Human Upper Limbs' Length Proportion: A Functional Partition Which Is Different from Anatomy |journal=BioMed Research International |language=en |volume=2017 |pages=e4158561 |doi=10.1155/2017/4158561 |doi-access=free |pmid=28232941 |pmc=5292375 |issn=2314-6133}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2024-04-05 |title=A Special Golden Curve in Human Upper Limbs' Length Proportion: A Functional Partition Which Is Different from Anatomy |doi=10.1155/2017/4158561 |doi-access=free |last1=Wang |first1=Nan |last2=Ma |first2=Jie |last3=Jin |first3=Dan |last4=Yu |first4=Bin |journal=BioMed Research International |volume=2017 |pages=1–6 |pmid=28232941 |pmc=5292375 }}</ref> – greater than other hominins. They exhibited greater [[sexual dimorphism]] than members of ''[[Homo]]'' or ''[[Pan (genus)|Pan]]'' but less so than ''[[Gorilla]]'' or ''[[Orangutan|Pongo]]''. It is thought that they averaged heights of {{Convert|1.2|–|1.5|m|ft}} and weighed between {{Convert|30|and|55|kg|lb}}. The [[brain size]] may have been 350 cc to 600 cc. The postcanines (the teeth behind the canines) were relatively large, and had more enamel compared to contemporary apes and humans, whereas the incisors and canines were relatively small, and there was little difference between the males' and females' canines compared to modern apes.<ref name="Szpak2007" /> 
==Relation to ''Homo''==
Most scientists maintain that the genus ''[[Homo]]'' emerged in Africa within the australopithecines around two million years ago. However, there is no consensus on within which species:

{{Quote|text=Determining which species of australopithecine (if any) is ancestral to the genus ''Homo'' is a question that is a top priority for many paleoanthropologists, but one that will likely elude any conclusive answers for years to come. Nearly every possible species has been suggested as a likely candidate, but none are overwhelmingly convincing. Presently, it appears that ''A. garhi'' has the potential to occupy this coveted place in paleoanthropology, but the lack of fossil evidence is a serious problem. Another problem presents itself in the fact that it has been very difficult to assess which hominid [now "hominin"] represents the first member of the genus ''Homo''. Without knowing this, it is not possible to determine which species of australopithecine may have been ancestral to ''Homo''.<ref name="Szpak2007"/>}}

Marc Verhaegen has argued that an australopithecine species could have also been ancestral to the genus ''[[Pan (genus)|Pan]]'' (i.e. chimpanzees).<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Verhaegen | first1 = M | year = 1990 | title = African ape ancestry | journal = Human Evolution | volume = 5 | issue = 3| pages = 295–297 | doi=10.1007/BF02437246}}</ref>

==Asian australopithecines==
{{See also|Meganthropus}}
A minority view among palaeoanthropologists is that australopithecines moved outside Africa. One proponent of this theory is [[Jens Lorenz Franzen]], formerly Head of Paleoanthropology at the Research Institute [[Senckenberg]]. Franzen argued that [[Paranthropus|robust australopithecines]] had reached not only Indonesia, as ''[[Meganthropus]]'', but also China:

{{Blockquote|text=In this way we arrive at the conclusion that the recognition of australopithecines in Asia would not confuse but could help to clarify the early evolution of hominids ["hominins"] on that continent. This concept would explain the scanty remains from Java and China as relic of an Asian offshoot of an early radiation of ''Australopithecus'', which was followed much later by an [African] immigration of ''Homo erectus'', and finally became extinct after a period of coexistence.|author=Jens Lorenz Franzen |title="Asian australopithecines?" |source=''Hominid Evolution: Past, Present, and Future'' (1985){{Sfn|Franzen|1985|p=}}}}

In 1957, an Early Pleistocene Chinese fossil tooth of unknown province was described as resembling ''[[Paranthropus robustus|P. robustus]]''. Three fossilized molars from [[Jianshi County|Jianshi]], China (Longgudong Cave) were later identified as belonging to an ''Australopithecus'' species.{{Sfn|Gao|1975|pp=}} However further examination questioned this interpretation; Zhang (1984) argued the Jianshi teeth and unidentified tooth belong to ''H. erectus''. Liu ''et al''. (2010) also dispute the Jianshi–australopithecine link and argue the Jianshi molars fall within the range of ''[[Homo erectus]]'':{{Sfn|Liu|Clarke|Xing|2010|pp=}}

{{Quote|text=No marked difference in dental crown shape is shown between the Jianshi hominin and other Chinese ''Homo erectus'', and there is also no evidence in support of the Jianshi hominin's closeness to ''Australopithecus''.{{Sfn|Liu|Clarke|Xing|2010|pp=}}}}

However, [[Milford H. Wolpoff|Wolpoff]] (1999) notes that in China "persistent claims of australopithecine or australopithecine-like remains continue".{{Sfn|Wolpoff|1999|pp=}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Dawn of Humanity|''Dawn of Humanity'' (2015 PBS film)]]
* [[Human taxonomy]]
* [[Template:Human timeline|Human timeline]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{Div col}}
*<!-- Briggs|Crowther|2008 -->{{Cite book | editor1-last = Briggs | editor1-first = D. | editor2-first = P. R. | editor2-last = Crowther | title = Palaeobiology II | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | year = 2008 | isbn = 9780470999288
| page = 600 }}
*<!-- Cela-Conde|Ayala|2003 -->{{Cite journal | last1 = Cela-Conde | first1 = C. J.| last2 = Ayala | first2 = F. J. | title = Genera of the human lineage | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0832372100 | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 100 | issue = 13 | pages = 7684–7689 | year = 2003 | pmid = 12794185| pmc = 164648| bibcode = 2003PNAS..100.7684C| doi-access = free}}
*<!-- Franzen|1985 -->{{Cite book | last =  Franzen | first = J. L. | year = 1985 | chapter = Asian australopithecines? | title = Hominid Evolution: Past, Present, and Future | location = New York | publisher = Wiley-Liss | pages = 255–263}}
*<!-- Gao|1975 -->{{cite journal | last1 = Gao | first1 = J | year = 1975 | title = Australopithecine teeth associated with ''Gigantopithecus'' | journal = Vertebrata PalAsiatica | volume = 13 | issue = 2| pages = 81–88 }}
*<!-- Kottak|2004 -->{{Cite book | last = Kottak | first = C. P. | year = 2004 | chapter = Glossary | title = Cultural Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity | edition = 10th | chapter-url = http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072832258/student_view0/glossary.html | publisher = McGraw-Hill | isbn = 978-0072832259 | access-date = 26 March 2013 | archive-date = 18 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130718051605/http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072832258/student_view0/glossary.html | url-status = dead }}
*<!-- Liu|Clarke|Xing|2010 -->{{cite journal | last1 = Liu | first1 = Wu | last2 = Clarke | first2 = Ronald | last3 = Xing | first3 = Song | year = 2010 | title = Geometric morphometric analysis of the early Pleistocene hominin teeth from Jianshi, Hubei Province, China | journal = Science China Earth Sciences | volume = 53 | issue = 8| pages = 1141–1152 | doi=10.1007/s11430-010-4013-0| bibcode = 2010ScChD..53.1141L | s2cid = 129711769 }}
*<!-- Mai|Owl|Kersting|2005 -->{{Cite book | year = 2005 | first1 = L. L. | last1 = Mai | first2 = M. Y. | last2 = Owl | first3 = M. P. | last3 = Kersting | title = The Cambridge Dictionary of Human Biology and Evolution | page = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgediction00mail/page/45 45] | location = Cambridge & New York | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-66486-8 | url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgediction00mail/page/45 }}
*<!-- Stanford|2012 -->{{Cite journal | last1 = Stanford | first1 = C. B. | doi = 10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145724 | title = Chimpanzees and the behavior of ''Ardipithecus ramidus'' | journal = Annual Review of Anthropology | volume = 41 | pages = 139–149 | year = 2012 }}
*<!-- Wood|2010 -->{{Cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = B. | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1001649107 | title = Reconstructing human evolution: Achievements, challenges, and opportunities | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 107 | pages = 8902–8909 | year = 2010 | issue = Suppl 2 | pmid = 20445105| pmc = 3024019| doi-access = free }}
*<!-- Wood|Richmond|2000 -->{{Cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = B. | last2 = Richmond | first2 = B. G. | doi = 10.1046/j.1469-7580.2000.19710019.x | title = Human evolution: Taxonomy and paleobiology | journal = Journal of Anatomy | volume = 197 | issue = Pt 1 | pages = 19–60 | year = 2000 | pmid = 10999270| pmc = 1468107}}
*<!-- Wolpoff|1999 -->{{Cite book | last = Wolpoff | first = M. H. | year = 1999 | title = Paleoanthropology | location = New York | publisher = McGraw-Hill}}
*<!-- Zhang|1985 -->{{Cite book | last = Zhang | first = Y. | year = 1985 | chapter = ''Gigantopithecus'' and ''Australopithecus'' in China | title = Palaeoanthropology and palaeolithic archaeology in the People's Republic of China | pages = 69–78}}
{{div col end}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary}}
*{{Commonscatinline|Hominina}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111216082405/http://homepage.mac.com/wis/Personal/lectures/evolutionary-anatomy/Australopithecines.pdf Informative lecture on ''Australopithecines'']

{{Human Evolution}}
{{Haplorhini|Ho.}}
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{{Taxonbar|from1=Q511893|from2=Q605457}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Australopithecine}}
[[Category:Hominina| ]]
[[Category:Human evolution]]
[[Category:Pliocene]]
[[Category:Hominini]]