Paranthropus boisei

Paranthropus boisei is an extinct species of hominid from East Africa, which lived in a dry environment and fed on hard vegetables, for which it developed a powerful chewing apparatus. intended for crushing seeds and roots. It appears in the fossil record in sediments from the Lower Pleistocene, from between 2.3 (Gelasian) and 1.3 million years ago (Calabrian).

The first known specimen was a skull (OH 5), discovered by Mary Leakey on July 17, 1959 in the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania; dated at 1.75 million years. Louis Leakey initially classified the species as Zinjanthropus boisei; "boisei" by anthropologist Charles Boise; "zinj", an ancient word for East Africa, and "anthropus", man. Another skull was found in 1969 by Richard Leakey at Koobi Fora near Lake Turkana.

The species was assigned to the genus Paranthropus by Robinson in 1960, and later to the genus Australopithecus by Leakey et al. in 1964, without However, Robinson's assignment has prevailed.

Its cranial capacity was around 515 cm³, the face is very wide and rounded, with very small incisors, but enormous molars and a sagittal crest to which large chewing muscles must have been attached. Its foramen magnum is more advanced than in Australopithecus (as in the genus Homo).

Otherwise, the weight, height and general appearance is very similar to the other Australopithecus. Finds of partial remains of the postcranial skeleton, such as OH 80 from Olduvai, show very robust characteristics, such as long and strong arms with a very robust radius and ulna. The males weighed an average of 49 to 61.7 kg, according to different calculations, and the females weighed 34 kg, reflecting a clear sexual dimorphism, and the minimum height has been calculated at 1.56 ± 0.039 m.

Paranthropus boisei lived in a drier environment than its ancestors Australopithecus. Faced with climate change, the species of this genus resorted to specializing their chewing apparatus in order to survive in a drier environment. Thus, with powerful jaws it was able to access roots, thick stems, etc. On the other hand, the rest of its body structure did not vary practically at all with respect to its ancestors Australopithecus.

Dietary specialization in the face of this climate change was demonstrated in another way with the discovery of a skull with a complete jaw, in 1997, in Konso (Ethiopia). At that same site, many bones of alcelafin bovids were found, which are known to feed on type C4 plants, which are scrublands with a dry and semi-dry climate. Therefore, it is known that Paranthropus boisei lived in a savanna.

Habitat

Paranthropus boisei lived in flat areas of East Africa, where, due to climate change, forests had disappeared, replaced by savannahs and extensive plains, as well as river valleys where a large amount of life was concentrated. terrestrial and semi-aquatic.

Paranthropus, with some resemblance to gorillas, shared its habitat with three other hominins: Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis and Homo erectus. Unlike these,P. boiseihad a more herbivorous diet, while the others were more opportunistic: they ate meat and protein foods that allowed them to develop more intelligence and encouraged greater use of tools. However,P. boiseialso ate termites and ants, as do modern apes.

Not being at the top of the food chain, it was vulnerable to attack by predators. A predator that stood out in its time was Crocodylus anthropophagus, a crocodile known for having attacked hominids, stalking them underwater when they came to drink. Others, such as saber-toothed cats, chased them hidden under the undergrowth, and these, not having enough speed to escape, fell victim to these predators.