What is an australopith?

Bobo192 ∙

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∙ 12y ago

Updated: 8/21/2019

An australopith is an extinct form of hominid primate of the genus Australopithecus.

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∙ 12y ago

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Is Homo naledi a new species of humans?

I'm not any kind of expert, but anybody can look at the original research paper,, and see what was identified as human-like and what was identified as not like them. I go into the main details on my blog, Fundamentalist Science. The significant features tied to our genus are the general shape of the head, the small teeth, and features of the hands and feet. They mention size, too, but humans come in a wide range of sizes and so do apes. Now, on the other side is "a more primitive or australopith-like trunk, ... shoulder," and "pelvis and proximal femur." Just those alone seem to argue strongly against giving the nod to placing the critter on the human side of the equation. Everything at its core is like an ausralopithecine "ape" or non-human. What seems to put the weight on the side of "non-human" to me is the tiny size of the brain. Even the fossils assigned to our genus, such as H. erectus, have distinctly larger brains. Maybe there's some technical reason for assigning naledi to our genus, but I don't think something that is so much like an ape with human-like hands and feet makes the cut.

What is an australopith?

What else can I help you with?

Is Homo naledi a new species of humans?

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