The first skull of Australopithecus boisei

Gen Suwa, Berhane Asfaw, Yonas Beyene, Tim D. White, Shigehiro Katoh, Shinji Nagaoka, Hideo Nakaya, Kazuhiro Uzawa, Paul Renne and Giday WoldeGabriel
Additional contact information
Gen Suwa: The University of Tokyo
Berhane Asfaw: Rift Valley Research Service
Yonas Beyene: CRCCH, Ministry of Information and Culture
Tim D. White: Laboratory for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of California
Shigehiro Katoh: Hyogo Museum of Human and Nature Activities
Shinji Nagaoka: Nagasaki University
Hideo Nakaya: Kagawa University
Kazuhiro Uzawa: The University of Tokyo
Paul Renne: Berkeley Geochronology Center
Giday WoldeGabriel: EES-1/D462, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Nature, 1997, vol. 389, issue 6650, 489-492

Abstract: Abstract Australopithecus boisei was first described from a cranium recovered in 1959 from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania1,2. This and subsequent finds, mostly from Kenya's Turkana basin3,4,5, resulted in its characterization as a specialized Australopithecus species with a hyper-robust masticatory apparatus2,4,6. A distinct A. boisei facial morphology has been emphasized to differentiate robust Australopithecus lineages from East and South Africa6. A preference for closed and/or wet habitats has been hypothesized7. Here we report some new A. boisei specimens, including the taxon's first cranium and associated mandible, from Konso, Ethiopia. These fossils extend the known geographical range of A. boisei. They provide clear evidence for the coexistence of A. boisei and Homo erectus within a predominantly dry grassland environment. The A. boisei specimens from Konso demonstrate considerable morphological variation within the species. The unexpected combination of cranial and facial features of this skull cautions against the excessive taxonomic splitting of early hominids based on morphological detail documented in small and/or geographically restricted samples.

Date: 1997
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DOI: 10.1038/39037

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