most fossils of australopithecus have been found in south africa.
most fossils of australopithecus have been found in south africa.
where have most fossils of australopithecus been found?
south africa
dart's claim that "australopithecus africanus", the species name that he had given to the taung child, was a transitional form between apes and humans was almost universally rejected. robert broom, a scottish doctor who worked in south africa, was one of the few scientists to believe dart. two weeks after dart announced the discovery of the taung child in "nature", broom visited dart in johannesburg to see the fossil. after he became a paleontologist in 1933, broom found adult fossils of "australopithecus africanus" and discovered more robust fossils, which were eventually renamed "australopithecus robustus ("aka "paranthropus robustus)". even after dart chose to take a break from his work in anthropology, broom undertook more excavations, and slowly began to find more "australopithecus africanus" specimens that proved dart was correct in his analysis of the taung child; it did have human-like morphology. in 1946, broom and his colleague gerrit schepers published a volume consolidating all the information they had found about "australopithecus africanus" in a volume titled "the south african fossil men: the australopithecinae."
taung child
in 2006, a new "a. anamensis" find was officially announced, extending the range of "a. anamensis" into north east ethiopia. specifically, one site known as asa issie provided 30 "a. anamensis" fossils. these new fossils, sampled from a woodland context, include the largest hominid canine tooth yet recovered and the earliest "australopithecus" femur. the find was in an area known as middle awash, home to several other more modern "australopithecus" finds and only six miles (9.7 kilometers) away from the discovery site of "ardipithecus ramidus", the most modern species of "ardipithecus" yet discovered. "ardipithecus" was a more primitive hominid, considered the next known step below "australopithecus" on the evolutionary tree. the "a. anamensis" find is dated to about 4.2 million years ago, the "ar. ramidus" find to 4.4 million years ago, placing only 200,000 years between the two species and filling in yet another blank in the pre-"australopithecus" hominid evolutionary timeline.
australopithecus anamensis