The robust group of hominids, with a strong and sturdy physique, includes:

• Australopithecus robustus
• Australopithecus boisei
• Australopithecus aethiopicus

• What is the history of finding robust australopithecines fossils?

The fossil species reconstructed here is Australopithecus robustus. Associated faunal fossils suggest a savannah habitat.

Interrogate the picture with your mouse cursor to elicit some of the other evidence on which this reconstruction is based.

Try answering the following questions:

• How different are the gracile and robust australopithecines?
• Australopithecus or Paranthropus? - what is in aname?
• What is the relationship between Australopithecus robustus and A. boisei?

The sites in South Africa where hominids have been found are difficult to date.

• Why do you think this is?

Analysing function, stature and locomotion in extinct animals requires a critical and judicious application of the comparative method.

• This can be hazardous: why?

This picture shows an artist's impression of a group of extinct robust hominids from South Africa as they might have appeared 1 - 2 million years ago [Fleagle 1999] .

Robust Australopithecines