The skull of StW 573, a 3.67 Ma Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa

Abstract

Here we present the first full anatomical description of the 3.67 million-year-old Australopithecus

The Long Limb Bones of the StW 573 Australopithecus Skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2: Descriptions and Proportions

“…shown South African Australopithecus to be one of the most phylogenetically unstable hominin groups (Skelton et al 1986;Chamberlain and Wood, 1987;Skelton and McHenry, 1992;Strait et al, 1997;Strait and Grine, 2004;Kimbel et al, 2004). Among other factors, this instability, accentuated by the high degree of morphological variation at Makapansgat and Sterkfontein (which has a much larger sample), has led some authors to argue that two Australopithecus species are represented within these deposits (Clarke 1989(Clarke , 1994(Clarke , 2013Clarke and Kuman, 2018; but see also Crompton et al, 2018).…”

“…In this analysis, taxonomic assignments in the original sources were maintained. However, as there is some debate on the number of species at Sterkfontein A. africanus may include specimens attributed to A. prometheus (for discussion, see Clarke, 2013;Clarke and Kuman, 2018) and whether some specimens should be included within H. habilis (Clarke, 2017). Figure modeled after Asfaw et al (1999).…”

Functional Anatomy, Biomechanical Performance Capabilities and Potential Niche of StW 573: anAustralopithecusSkeleton (circa 3.67 Ma) From Sterkfontein Member 2, and its significance for The Last Common Ancestor of the African Apes and for Hominin Origins

“…Here we review aspects of contributions on StW 573 which bear on its potential niche as an individual. These aspects include the geological and palaeoenvironmental context (Bruxelles et al 2018, submitted), its craniodental anatomy (Clarke and Kuman, 2018, submitted), the endocast (Beaudet et al, 2018a, in press), the inner ear (Beaudet et al 2018b, submitted), the scapula and clavicle (Carlson et al, 2018, in prep. ), the hand (Jashashvili et al, 2018 in prep.)…”

“…An overall cranial shape similarity is evident with the Bouri Hata hominin, ca. 2.5 Ma, (Asfaw et al 1999), but some aspects of cranial morphology suggest to Clarke and Kuman (2018, submitted) that an ancestral relationship of StW 573 to Paranthropus may be possible. Beaudet et al (2018a, in press) conclude from the remarkably well preserved endocast that the brain was small (perhaps surprisingly so) and undistinguished from that of other non-human great apes (NHGAs).…”

Bilateral Asymmetry of the Forearm Bones as Possible Evidence of Antemortem Trauma in the StW 573 Australopithecus Skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2 (South Africa)

“…The 3.67-million-year-old StW 573 ("Little Foot") Australopithecus skeleton, from Member 2 of the Sterkfontein Formation (South Africa), was discovered by R.J. Clarke in a sequence of steps that unfolded in the laboratory and field over the years of 1995 through 1997 (see, e.g., Dugard, 1995;Clarke, 2018). In a series of papers, Clarke and his colleagues (Clarke and Tobias, 1995;Clarke, 1998Clarke, , 1999Clarke, , 2002Clarke, , 2007Clarke, , 2008Clarke, , 2018Pickering et al, 2004;Granger et al, 2015;Stratford et al, 2017;Beaudet et al, 2018a,b;Clarke, 2018;Clarke et al, 2018;Crompton et al, 2018;Heaton et al, 2018) have provided information on the skeleton's stratigraphic and taphonomic circumstances, geochronological position, taxonomic status, and functional morphology.…”