The 2 - million - yr - old skull of an extinct human mintage has been unearthed in the profoundness of a cave organization in South Africa . The nigh - complete virile skull belongs to an ancient human relative get it on asParanthropus robustusthat endure around the southern tip of Africa from approximately 2 million years ago .
It was first unearth in 2018 by researchers from La Trobe University ’s Archaeology Department in Australia during an excavation at the Drimolen Main Quarry north of Johannesburg , South Africa . Since it was discovered on South African Father ’s Day , June 20 , the researchers have nicknamed the species “ the Father ’s Day fossil . ”
As reported in the journalNature Ecology & Evolution , the researchers who find the specimen say it ’s the earliest known and best - preserved fossil of the metal money ever find . This could lead to some exciting insight into this mystifying ancient species and add some page to the story of human ancestors .
Interestingly , this freshly discovered fogey suggestsParanthropus robustusemerged at some the same prison term asour lineal ancestorHomo erectus , indicating the species both shared the same landscape at the same clock time some 2 million years ago .
" These two vastly different specie , H. erectuswith their relatively large brains and diminished teeth , andP. robustuswith their relatively large teeth and small mastermind , map diverging evolutionary experiments , " Angeline Leece , first author from La Trobe University , said in astatement . " While we were the lineage that gain ground out in the end , the fossil criminal record suggests thatP. robustuswas much more common thanH. erectuson the landscape painting two million days ago . "
antecedently , it was believed that the female person of the species were notably belittled than the male person . However , the unexampled male skull is little than anticipate , much more akin to the female skulls of the same metal money find in the area .
The researchers say this observation could have some big implications . Instead of the unlike skull sizes designate differences in sex activity , the squad indicate they might interpret anatomic changes between dissimilar groups , contribute on by a sudden shakeup of the local climate change in the Confederacy of Africa at this time . As the area became increasingly dry , food became increasingly scarce , thrust the metal money to survive on tougher vegetation . So their possibility goes , this may have driven a uncommon lesson of microevolution within a human lineage , causingParanthropus robustusto evolve chewing adaptation in the skull in response to environmental change .
" P. robustusis remarkable in that it possesses a number of features in its braincase , jaws and tooth indicate that it was adapt to eat a diet consist of either very hard or very tough nutrient , " explained David Strait , a prof of biologic anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University . " We cerebrate that these adaptations allowed it to survive on foods that were mechanically difficult to eat as the environment exchange to be cooler and dryer , leading to change in local vegetation . "
