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To know more about the location of the fossils, You can also learn about the other hominids: For more images of hominids, Did you know? This species means "robust near-man." |
Australopithecus robustus or Paranthropus robustus
Robert Broom first discovered it
in 1938 in South Africa. robustus had a body similar to that of 
africanus,
but a larger and more robust skull and teeth. It existed between 2 and 1.5 million
years ago. The massive face is a flat or dished, with no forehead and large
brow ridge. It has relatively small front teeth, but massive grinding teeth
in a large lower jaw. Most specimens have sagittal crests. Its diet would have
been mostly coarse, tough food that needed a lot of chewing. The average brain
size is about 530 cc. Cranium is still very
small and chimp-like. Bones excavated with robustus skeletons indicate that
they may have been used as digging tools.
Image: Roubstus along with boisei
TM 1517, Australopithecus robustus (was Paranthropus robustus)
Discovered by a schoolboy, Gert Terblanche, in 1938 at Kromdraai in South Africa (Broom 1938). It consisted of skull fragments, including five teeth, and a few skeletal fragments. This was the first specimen of robustus.
SK 48, Australopithecus robustus (was Paranthropus crassidens)
Discovered by Mr. Fourie in 1950at Swartkrans in South Africa (Johanson and Edgar 1996). It is a cranium, probably belonging to an adult female, and 1.5-2.0 million years old. It is the most complete skull of robustus.
