Paranthropus Aethiopicus - Classification Debates

Classification Debates

Not all anthropologists agree that P. aethiopicus evolved into both Paranthropus boisei and Paranthropus robustus, since the skull more closely resembles that of A. afarensis. The one clue that makes P. aethiopicus a possible ancestor to both P. boisei and P. robustus is the similarity in jaw size. P. aethiopicus is known to have lived in mixed savanna and woodland. More evidence must be gathered about P. aethiopicus in order to accurately describe its physiology. The bizarre primitive shape of the "Black Skull" gives evidence that P. aethiopicus and the other australopithecines are on an evolutionary branch of the hominid tree, distinctly diverging from the Homo (human) lineage.

Some scientists disagree with the classification of the black skull as an A. afarensis. They argue that that the fact that the black skull “hominids” were alive at the same time as A. afarensis is not enough evidence to group them together into one species. No clear consensus has been reached among the scientific community over the present location of the “black skull” in the hominid tree, some suggesting that it is the link between P. africanus and P. boisei while others maintain that P. africanus and KNM WT-17000 are on separate hominid lines, with P. africanus on the branch that would evolve into modern humans.