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Australopithecus sediba: a new species of Homo-like australopith from South Africa


Berger, L R; de Ruiter, D J; Churchill, S E; Schmid, P; Carlson, K J; Dirks, P H G M; Kibii, J M (2010). Australopithecus sediba: a new species of Homo-like australopith from South Africa. Science, 328(5975):195-204.

Abstract

Despite a rich African Plio-Pleistocene hominin fossil record, the ancestry of Homo and its relation to earlier australopithecines remain unresolved. Here we report on two partial skeletons with an age of 1.95 to 1.78 million years. The fossils were encased in cave deposits at the Malapa site in South Africa. The skeletons were found close together and are directly associated with craniodental remains. Together they represent a new species of Australopithecus that is probably descended from Australopithecus africanus. Combined craniodental and postcranial evidence demonstrates that this new species shares more derived features with early Homo than any other australopith species and thus might help reveal the ancestor of that genus.

Abstract

Despite a rich African Plio-Pleistocene hominin fossil record, the ancestry of Homo and its relation to earlier australopithecines remain unresolved. Here we report on two partial skeletons with an age of 1.95 to 1.78 million years. The fossils were encased in cave deposits at the Malapa site in South Africa. The skeletons were found close together and are directly associated with craniodental remains. Together they represent a new species of Australopithecus that is probably descended from Australopithecus africanus. Combined craniodental and postcranial evidence demonstrates that this new species shares more derived features with early Homo than any other australopith species and thus might help reveal the ancestor of that genus.

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Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:07 Faculty of Science > Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
Dewey Decimal Classification:300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology
Scopus Subject Areas:Health Sciences > Multidisciplinary
Language:English
Date:2010
Deposited On:27 Oct 2010 08:42
Last Modified:23 Jan 2022 17:04
Publisher:American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
ISSN:0036-8075
OA Status:Closed
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1184944
PubMed ID:20378811