The discovery of A. aethiopicus and the implications surrounding it remain one of the most central questions concerning the evolution of the hominid line in paleoanthropology today.
The first specimen of this species was an edentulous mandible found by Camille Arambourg and Yves Coppens discovered in southern Ethiopia in 1967. It was first named Paraustralopithecus aethiopicus. Because of this new distinction, the find was largely ignored or overlooked in the field. It was the discovery of "The Black Skull" (KNM-WT 17000) in 1986 that brought interest to the species. It's commonly called "Black Skull" because during fossilization, manganese absorbtion gave the skull a blackish color.
Classification of this species is still highly contested by most researchers. The specimen found is very similar to A. afarensis, yet with a cranial capacity of only approximately 410 cm3. Generally, the face resembles the species A. boisei, in that it is extremely indicitive of the robust Australopithecines. However, the top and back of the cranium itself is similar to A. afarensis.
It has very large molars, flared cheek bones, a dished face, and a prominent sagittal crest running along the midline at the top of the skull.1 This set of anatomical features is most unusual in terms of categorization. Research in the field has come to a wide range of conclusions:
"Australopithecus aethiopicus became important in phylogenetic considerations soon after the discovery of the Black Skull. The species is generally accepted to have shown that the genus designation Paranthropus is polyphyletic and invalid, though some still vocally argue against that fact. One of the earliest important cladistic analysis was by Walker and Leakey (1988), which they claim shows aethiopicus is at the base of the boisei lineage, is more primitive than robustus, and that aethiopicus is not ancestral to robustus. However, Strait et al. says that this phylogeny requires 39 extra steps above the most parsimonious tree, and most cladists do not favor this phylogeny. Skelton and McHenry (1992) and Lieberman et al. (1996) both came to the same conclusions regarding aethiopicus and Paranthropus using different character traits. Both see aethiopicus as a dead-end side branch and Paranthropus as polyphyletic and invalid. On the other side of the coin, Strait et al. (1997) see all the robusts sharing a recent common ancestor (aethiopicus), with Paranthropus monophyletic." 2
Attempting to reach a conclusion about the specific classification of this species with respect to other early human ancestors is difficult. Certainly, the discovery of this species and dating it to coexist with other known early Australopithecus shows that species diversity during this time was much greater than originally thought.
1 See http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/australopithecusaethiopicus.htm for a photograph of "The Black Skull" and an interesting visual reproduction of A. aethiopicus.
Ugunduzi wa A. aethiopicus na athari zake bado ni moja ya maswali muhimu kuhusu mageuzi ya mstari wa hominid katika paleoanthropology leo. Mfano wa kwanza wa aina hii ulikuwa mdomo wa chini usio na meno uliopatikana na Camille Arambourg na Yves Coppens huko Ethiopia kusini mwaka 1967. Mwanzoni aliitwa Paraustralopithecus aethiopicus. Kwa sababu ya tofauti hiyo mpya, uvumbuzi huo ulipuuzwa au kupuuzwa sana katika uwanja huo. "Kikosi cha ""The Black Skull"" (KNM-WT 17000) kiligunduliwa mwaka 1986 na kuvutia watu wengi." Kwa kawaida huitwa "Black Skull" kwa sababu wakati wa fossilization, kunyonya manganese kulitoa fuvu la kichwa rangi nyeusi. Uainishaji wa spishi hii bado unashutumiwa sana na watafiti wengi. Mfano huo unafanana sana na A. afarensis, lakini una uwezo wa fuvu la kichwa wa karibu 410 cm3. Kwa ujumla, uso huo unafanana na spishi ya A. boisei, kwa kuwa unaonyesha sana kwamba ni wa jamii ya Australopithecines yenye nguvu. Hata hivyo, sehemu ya juu na ya nyuma ya fuvu la kichwa linafanana na A. afarensis. Ina meno makubwa sana, mifupa ya mashavu iliyoinuka, uso uliochongoka, na mhimili wa sagittal unaojulikana unaoendesha kando ya mstari wa kati juu ya fuvu la kichwa. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika makala hii, ""Australopithecus aethiopicus"" ni aina ya mnyama wa asili wa Australia ambaye alipewa jina la ""Mwanamke wa Black Skull.""" Aina hiyo kwa ujumla inakubaliwa kuwa imeonyesha kwamba jina la jenasi Paranthropus ni polyphyletic na halali, ingawa baadhi bado wanasema dhidi ya ukweli huo. "Walakini, utafiti wa kwanza wa cladistic uliofanywa na Walker na Leakey, uliofanywa mnamo 1988, ulionyesha kwamba ""aethiopicus"" ni asili ya asili ya ""boisei"" na ""aethiopicus"" sio asili ya ""robous.""" Hata hivyo, Strait et al. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""kijani-mwili"" kinahitaji hatua 39 za ziada juu ya mti wa kiuchumi zaidi, na cladists wengi hawapendi phylogeny hii." Skelton na McHenry (1992) na Lieberman et al. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""aethiopus"" na ""paranthropus"" ni sifa tofauti za tabia." Wote wawili huona aethiopicus kuwa tawi la upande wa mwisho na Paranthropus kama polyphyletic na isiyofaa. Upande mwingine wa sarafu, Strait et al. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""aethiopus"" ni jina la asili la asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili ya asili." Ni vigumu kufikia mkataa kuhusu uainishaji maalum wa spishi hii kuhusiana na mababu wengine wa mapema wa binadamu. Kwa hakika, ugunduzi wa spishi hii na tarehe yake ya kuishi pamoja na Australopithecus nyingine inayojulikana mapema inaonyesha kwamba utofauti wa spishi wakati huu ulikuwa mkubwa zaidi kuliko ilivyodhaniwa awali. "Hii ni kwa sababu ya ""australopithecus aetiopicus"" (a."