Australopithecus

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Australopithecus (, OS-trə-lə-PITH-i-kəs, -⁠loh-; or , os-TRA-lə-pi-THEE-kəs, from Latin australis 'southern' and Ancient Greek πίθηκος (píthēkos) 'ape') is an extinct genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genera Homo (which includes modern humans), Paranthropus, and Kenyanthropus evolved from some Australopithecus species. Australopithecus is a member of the subtribe Australopithecina, which sometimes also includes Ardipithecus, though the term "australopithecine" is sometimes used to refer only to members of Australopithecus. Species include A. garhi, A. africanus, A. sediba, A. afarensis, A. anamensis, A. bahrelghazali, and A. deyiremeda. Debate exists as to whether some Australopithecus species should be reclassified into new genera, or if Paranthropus and Kenyanthropus are synonymous with Australopithecus, in part because of the taxonomic inconsistency. Furthermore, because e.g. A. africanus is more closely related to humans...

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