Question

What do you know about Australopithecus?

Answer 1

australopithecus literally means 'southern ape.' It is an extinct genus of members of the human family tree. Scientists generally accept five species: A. afarensus, A. africanus, A. anamensis, A. garhi, and A. sediba, as belonging to the genus.

We'll take a look it each of the Australopithecine species in turn, covering their time of emergence in the fossil record, probable place in our family tree, and overall traits. But first, let's look at an overview of the human family tree.