Australopithecus garhi is a gracile australopithecine species whose fossils were discovered in 1996 by a research team led by Ethiopian paleontologist Berhane Asfaw and including Tim White, an American paleontologist researcher. The hominin remains were initially believed to be a human ancestor species and the final missing link between the Australopithecus genus and the human genus, Homo. However it is now believed that A. garhi, although more advanced than any other australopithecine, was only a competitor species to the species ancestral to Homo and therefore not a human ancestor. The remains are from the time when there are very few fossil records, between 2.0 and 3.0 million years ago. Tim White was the scientist to find the first of the key A. garhi fossils in 1996 near the village of Bouri, located in the Middle Awash of Ethiopia's Afar Depression. The species was confirmed and established as A. garhi on November 20, 1997 by Y. Haile-Selassie. The species epithet "garhi" means "surprise" in the local Afar language. The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla... For the ecclesiastical use of this term, see primate (religion) Families 13, See classification A primate is any member of the biological order Primates, the group that contains all lemurs, monkeys, and apes, including humans. ... Genera Subfamily Ponginae Pongo - orangutans Gigantopithecus† Sivapithecus† Lufengpithecus† Ankarapithecus† Subfamily Homininae Gorilla - gorillas Pan - chimpanzees Homo - Humans and their immediate ancestors Ouranopithecus† Paranthropus† Australopithecus† Sahelanthropus† Orrorin† Ardipithecus† Kenyanthropus† The hominids are the members of the biological family Hominidae (the great apes), which includes humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. ... Species †A. afarensis(Lucy) †A. africanus †A. anamensis †A. bahrelghazali †A. garhi Formerly Australopithecus, now Paranthropus † † † The gracile australopithecines (members of the genus Australopithecus) are a group of extinct hominids that are closely related to humans. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... [[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]] {{{diversity}}} Binomial name {{{binomial}}} Trinomial name {{{trinomial}}} Type Species {{{type_species}}} Species A. afarensis (Lucy) A. africanus A. anamensis A. bahrelghazali A. garhi Formerly Australopithecus, now Paranthropus [[Image:{{{range_map}}}|{{{range_map_width}}}|]] Synonyms {{{synonyms}}} The gracile australopithecines (members of the genus Australopithecus) are a group of extinct hominids that are closely... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Tim White- Born August 24, 1950 in Los Angeles, California. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are biologically classified as bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or thinking man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... Title card. ... Species †A. afarensis(Lucy) †A. africanus †A. anamensis †A. bahrelghazali †A. garhi Formerly Australopithecus, now Paranthropus † † † The gracile australopithecines (members of the genus Australopithecus) are a group of extinct hominids that are closely related to humans. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are biologically classified as bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or thinking man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... Species Homo sapiens sapiens See text for extinct species. ... This term australopithecine refers to two very closely related hominin genera: Australopithecus Paranthropus When used alone, the term refers to both genera together. ... The Middle Awash is an archaeological site along the Awash River in Ethiopias Afar Depression. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Morphology and interpretations

The traits of A. garhi fossils such as BOU-VP-12/130 are somewhat distinctive from traits typically seen in Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus africanus. An example of the distinction can be seen when comparing the Hadar maxilla (A. afarensis) to the Bouri specimen of A. gahri. The cranial capacity of A. garhi measures 450cc, the same size as other australopithecines. The manible classified as Asfaw et al. has a morphology generally believed to be compatible with the same species, yet it is possible that another hominin species may have been found within the same deposits. Studies made on the premolars and molar teeth have a few similarities with those of Paranthropus boisei since they are larger than any other gracile form of australopithecine. It has been suggested that if A. garhi is ancestral to Homo (ie. Homo habilis) the maxillary morphology would have undergone a rapid evolutionary change in roughly 200,000 and 300,000 years. Binomial name †Australopithecus afarensis Johanson & White, 1978 Australopithecus afarensis is a hominid which lived between 3. ... Binomial name Australopithecus africanus Dart, 1925 Raymond Dart with Taung skull Australopithecus africanus was an early hominid, an australopithecine, who lived between 3. ... Hadar is a site on the Awash River in Ethiopia, in the Afar Triangle. ... Look up CC, cc in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Binomial name Paranthropus boisei (Mary Leakey, 1959) Paranthropus boisei had a skull highly specialized for heavy chewing. ... Binomial name Homo habilis Leakey et al, 1964 Homo habilis «HOH moh HAB uh luhs» (handy man, skillful person) is a species of the genus Homo, which lived from approximately 2. ...

Earliest stone tools

Few primitive shaped stone tool artifacts closely resembling Olduwan technology were discovered with the A. garhi fossils, dating back roughly 2.5 and 2.6 million years old. The 23 April 1999 issue of Science mentions that the tools are older than those acquired by Homo habilis, which is thought to be a possible direct descendent of more modern hominins. For a long time anthropologists assumed that only members of early genus Homo had the ability to produce sophisticated tools. However the crude ancient tools lack several techniques that are generally seen in later forms Olduwan and Acheulean such as strong rock-outcroppings. In another site in Bouri, Ethiopia, roughly 3,000 stone artifacts had been found to be an estimated 2.5 million years old in age. Olduwan, earlier spelled Oldowan or sometimes Oldawan, is an anthropological designation for an industry of stone tools used by prehistoric hominids of the Lower Paleolithic. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Science is the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). ... Genera Gorilla Pan (chimpanzees) Homo (humans) Paranthropus (extinct) Australopithecus (extinct) Sahelanthropus (extinct) Ardipithecus (extinct) Kenyanthropus (extinct) Homininae is a subfamily of Hominidae, including Homo sapiens and some extinct relatives, as well as the gorillas and the chimpanzees. ... See Anthropology. ... Acheulean (also spelled Acheulian) is the name of an industry of stone tools used by prehistoric hominines. ...

References

• http://home.hetnet.nl/mr_9/95/krocat/english/news/news9.htm
• http://home.austarnet.com.au/stear/cg_australopithecus_garhi.htm

External links

• http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2001/nov/ancestor.htm
• http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/australopithecusgarhi.htm
• http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/Human%20Nature%20S%201999/australopithecus_garhi.htm