Australopithecus garhiTimespan: 2.0 – 3.0 mya

Region: Afar, East Africa

Specimens: 9

Discovered: Asfaw 1999

Holotype: BOU-VP-12/130

Lineage: (descndt of) A. afarensis

Environment: lake-side

Diet: (likely) omnivorous

Speculation/theories: • Post-cranial elements not definitevely classified, so diagnoses may not be legitimate• Possible evidence of meat-eating & stone tool manufacture (association debatable) but

would prove tools pre-dated encephalization• Chronologically btwn A. afarensis & early Homo • Sister-taxon to A. africanus

D I A G N O S T I C F E AT U R E S

cranio-dental• small, posteriorly placed sagittal crest• convex area below the nasal aperture (clivus)• U-shaped dental archade w/ divergent dental rows• canine larger than any other hominin• anterior premolar is larger than any except for some specimens of P. boisei

• femur rel long compared to humerus – similar to modern humans,

• absolutely larger postcanine dentition• M3 reduced mesio- buccal enamel line

projection & less occlusal asymmetry

• forearm elongated• strong subnasal facial prognathism• differences from A. africanus reminiscent of A.

afarensis

B E H AV I O U R A L E V I D E N C E

• isolated cores & flakes found in survey at Gona◦ similar age to Gona & Hadar, but much less concetrated aseemblages◦ lack of local raw materials evidences transport of stone &/or finished tools

• antelope bones found at ???? ◦ evidence modification (lithic cutmarks & hammerstone impacts)

similar to A. afarensis{

Lacks derived facial features of P. aethiopicus, P. boisei, & P. robustus

Differs from A. africanus & early Homo by its primitive frontal, facial, palatal, and subnasal regions ; frontal bone differs from A. africanus

differs from A. afarensis{

K E Y S P E C I M E N S

• BOU-VP-11/1L: proximal fragment of ulna (1998)

• BOU-VP-12/1A-G: proximal femur & associated forearm elements (1996)

• BOU-VP-12/130: cranial fragments (frontals, parietals, & maxilla w/ dentition)

Cranial capacity est 450cc, likely male

Found in Hatayae Member of Bouri Formation

• BOU-VP-12/87: cranial fragment, crested (1997)

• BOU-VP-17/1: mandible (1997)

• BOU-VP-35/1: humeral shaft (1998)

• GAM-VP-1/1: mandibular fragment

w/ tooth roots & corpus contours (obv not Paranthropus)

• GAM-VP-1/2: parietal fragment – genus unknown

• MAT-VP-1/1: distal left humerus – genus unknown

M A J O R S I T E S• Bouri, Afar, Ethiopia:

Aprox age 2.5 mya;

Bouri peninsula, left of Awash River, Middle Awash area in Afar;

Holotype found on top of Maoleem Tuff;

Most (femur, right humerus, radius, ulna; fibular shaft, proximal foot phalanx) elements likely represent 1 indiv as all surface finds found w/in 2m diameter, except in situ femoral element;

Esa Dibo (17 & 35) localities' specimens same age as more southerly localities (11 & 12)

• Gamdeh

• Matabaietu

•

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

Asfaw, B. (1999) Australopithecus garhi: A New Species of Early Hominid from Ethiopia. Science, 284(5414), 629-635.

Groves, C. (1999) Australopithecus garhi: A New-Found Link?, Reports of the National Center for Science Education 19(3)

Wood, B. & B. Richmond (2000) Human evolution: taxonomy and paleobiology, Journal of Anatomy 196: 19-60