African wild ass descendant. Thus, if one species is recognized, the correct scientific name of the donkey is "E. africanus asinus". The first published name for the African wild ass, "Asinus africanus", Fitzinger, 1858, is a nomen nudum. The name "Equus taeniopus" von Heuglin, 1861 is rejected as indeterminable, as it is based on an animal that cannot be identified and may have been a hybrid between a domestic donkey and a Somali wild ass; the type has not been preserved. The first available name thus becomes "Asinus africanus" von Heuglin & Fitzinger, 1866. A lectotype is designated: a skull of an adult
Australopithecus africanus and STS 71), but also presents primitive features including ape-like, curved fingers adapted to tree climbing. Instead of it being a direct ancestor of later hominins and thereby of humans, some researchers believe that "A. africanus" evolved into "Paranthropus", and specifically that "P. robustus" descended from "A. africanus". Both "P. robustus" and "A. africanus" crania seem very alike despite the more heavily built (robust) features of "P. robustus", which, like those of the modern gorilla, are adaptations for heavy chewing. "A. africanus", on the other hand, had a cranium which quite closely resembled that of a modern chimpanzee; yet both