Praeanthropus
Encyclopedia
Praeanthropus is a genus
used by some researchers to include certain hominid species
generally included in other genera by most researchers. The type species
is Praeanthropus africanus, a defunct synonym of Praeanthropus afarensis (=Australopithecus afarensis
). Other species which have been placed in this genus are:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
used by some researchers to include certain hominid species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
generally included in other genera by most researchers. The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
is Praeanthropus africanus, a defunct synonym of Praeanthropus afarensis (=Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A...
). Other species which have been placed in this genus are:
- Australopithecus anamensisAustralopithecus anamensisAustralopithecus anamensis is a stem-human species that lived approximately four million years ago. Nearly one hundred fossil specimens are known from Kenya and Ethiopia, representing over 20 individuals.- Discovery :...
- Australopithecus bahrelghazaliAustralopithecus bahrelghazaliAustralopithecus bahrelghazali is a fossil hominin that was first discovered in 1993 by the paleontologist Michel Brunet in the Bahr el Ghazal valley near Koro Toro, in Chad, that Brunet named Abel...
- Australopithecus africanusAustralopithecus africanusAustralopithecus africanus was an early hominid, an australopithecine, who lived between 2–3 million years ago in the Pliocene. In common with the older Australopithecus afarensis, A. africanus was slenderly built, or gracile, and was thought to have been a direct ancestor of modern humans. Fossil...
- Orrorin tugenensisOrrorin tugenensisOrrorin tugenensis is considered to be the second-oldest known hominin ancestor that is possibly related to modern humans, and it is the only species classified in genus Orrorin...