Sites: South Africa: Taung and Sterkfontein
Age: 3.3 to 2 mya Type specimen: Taung child Specimens: Mrs Ples (Sts 5), Sts 14, Sts 71, Sts 36, Sts 71, Stw 505. Cranial capacity: approximately 440 cm3 Cranial architecture:
Dentition:
Postcranial: Walked upright and was more efficient at bipedalism than living African apes. A. africanus was lightly built and probably had relative long arms. Environment: Length and weight: 30 to 41 kg, 110 cm to 140 cm Tools: Possible manuports Ancestor: A. afarensis Descendants: Homo and robust australopithecines General: Adapted to drier, more-savannah like climate with marked seasonality. Changes in morphology associated with a change in environment, consumption of high quality foods such as proteins, and/or less arboreal activities. The most complete skull of this species, is that of Mrs Ples from Sterkfontein, discovered in 1947 by Dr Robert Broom and John Robinson of the Transvaal Museum. Sexual dimorphism was probably less than that seen in A. afarensis. References:
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