Australopithecus sediba

Australopithecus sediba is an extinct hominin species known from fossils at Malapa, South Africa, dated to about 1.98 million years ago. Its anatomy combines traits associated with australopiths and early members of the genus Homo.

Malapa Fossil Site: A South African cave deposit that preserves fossils of Australopithecus sediba and other animals. This is the site where the species’ known fossils were discovered.
Australopithecus: An extinct genus of African hominins that lived before and alongside early members of Homo. Australopithecus sediba is classified within this genus.
Bipedalism: Locomotion using two legs as the primary means of movement. Leg, pelvis, and foot fossils bear on how Australopithecus sediba walked.
Lee Berger: A paleoanthropologist who led the research team that announced Australopithecus sediba. Berger’s team identified and described the Malapa fossils.
Homo origins debate: Scientific debate over which populations and evolutionary processes gave rise to the genus Homo. Australopithecus sediba has been proposed as a candidate close to Homo’s ancestry.
MH1: The partial skeleton of a juvenile Australopithecus sediba individual from Malapa. Its associated bones reveal much of the species’ anatomy in one individual.
Hominin: A member of the human lineage after its divergence from the lineage of chimpanzees and bonobos. The species belongs to the human lineage, rather than to another living ape lineage.
Arboreal locomotion: Movement through trees by climbing, grasping, or traveling along branches. Several features of the species’ upper body and hands suggest continued climbing ability.
Matthew Berger: A South African explorer who discovered the first Australopithecus sediba fossils at Malapa as a child. His 2008 discovery initiated the investigations that established the species.
Phylogenetics: The study of evolutionary relationships among organisms using shared evidence and explicit methods. Different choices of anatomical evidence can yield different placements for the species.

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