Kenyanthropus - Background Information/Behavior

Background Information/Behavior

The name Kenyanthropus platyops was assigned to this unique species for several reasons; the genus name “Kenyanthropus” comes from the fact that scientists wanted to recognize Kenya since so many different hominins have been discovered there, and those findings have played a significant role in understanding human evolution. The species name “Platyops” comes from the Greek words platus, which means flat, and opsis, which means face, referring to its very flat face.

The discovery of these fossils led to the prediction of an early diet-driven adaptive radiation, which is when species diversify to fulfill new ecological niches; this would be attributed to the fact that many new species of Australopithecus and other hominins were being discovered that pre-dated or lived around the same time as Australopithecus afarensis. This is a striking discovery because this indicated that species were much more diverse in the distant past than previously thought. Even with the findings of a skull, their diet is still relatively unknown at this time. Also, no evidence of material culture or anything that would leave to its behavioral adaptations or lifestyle has been discovered at this time.

Several aspects of the environment it may have lived in have been proposed, which they found from doing faunal comparison tests with other animals they discovered that lived during their time. It is believed that they lived in a “mosaic” environment, which had both grassland and some forested areas. This is quite different from their close relative, Australopithecus afarensis, who was found in sites such as Laetoli, Tanzania, and Hadar, Ethiopia, where they are believed to have spent a lot of time up in the trees.