Paranthropus boisei is a species of australopithecine from the Early Pleistocene of East Africa about 2.5 to 1.15 million years ago.[1] The holotype specimen, OH 5, was discovered by palaeoanthropologist Mary Leakey in 1959 at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania and described by her husband Louis a month later. It was originally placed into its own genus as "Zinjanthropus boisei", but is now relegated to Paranthropus along with other robust australopithecines. However, it is also argued that Paranthropus is an invalid grouping and synonymous with Australopithecus, so the species is also often classified as Australopithecus boisei.
Robust australopithecines are characterised by heavily built skulls capable of producing high stresses and bite forces, and some of the largest molars with the thickest enamel of any known ape. P. boisei is the most robust of this group. Brain size was about 450–550 cc (27–34 cu in), similar to other australopithecines. Some skulls are markedly smaller than others, which is taken as evidence of sexual dimorphism where females are much smaller than males, though body size is difficult to estimate given only one specimen, OH 80, definitely provides any bodily elements. The presumed male OH 80 may have been 156 cm (5 ft 1 in) tall and 61.7 kg (136 lb) in weight, and the presumed female KNM-ER 1500 124 cm (4 ft 1 in) tall (though its species designation is unclear). The arm and hand bones of OH 80 and KNM-ER 47000 suggest P. boisei was arboreal to a degree.
P. boisei was originally believed to have been a specialist species of hard foods, such as nuts, due to its heavily built skull, but it was more likely a generalist feeder of predominantly abrasive C4 plants, such as grasses or underground storage organs. Like gorillas, the apparently specialised adaptations of the skull may have only been used with less desirable fallback foods, allowing P. boisei to inhabit a wider range of habitats than gracile australopithecines. P. boisei may have been able to make Oldowan stone tools and butcher carcasses. P. boisei mainly inhabited wet, wooded environments, and coexisted with H. habilis, H. rudolfensis and H. ergaster/erectus. These were likely preyed upon by the large carnivores of the time, including big cats, crocodiles and hyenas.
^Wood, Bernard; Doherty, Dandy; Boyle, Eve (2020-05-29). "Hominin Taxic Diversity". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190854584.013.194. ISBN 9780190854584. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
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"Zinjanthropus boisei", but is now relegated to Paranthropus along with other robust australopithecines. However, it is also argued that Paranthropus is an invalid...
Paranthropus is a genus of extinct hominin which contains two widely accepted species: P. robustus and P. boisei. However, the validity of Paranthropus...
to respectively include and exclude P. aethiopicus from P. boisei. Like other Paranthropus, P. aethiopicus had a tall face, thick palate, and especially...
Early Pleistocene of East Africa Paranthropus aethiopicus – Extinct species of hominin of East Africa Paranthropusboisei – Extinct species of hominin of...
habilis coexisted with H. rudolfensis, H. ergaster / H. erectus and Paranthropusboisei. The first recognised remains—OH 7, partial juvenile skull, hand...
PMID 23481345. Wood, Bernard A.; Constantino, Paul J. (28 November 2007). "Paranthropusboisei: Fifty Years of Evidence and Analysis". Yearbook of Physical Anthropology...
Research does show, that in general, their diet was very broad. Paranthropusboisei was a hominid species dated to have lived from 2.3 to 1.2 million...
hominins, including modern humans, Australopithecus africanus, and Paranthropusboisei. This common feature of bipedal hominins is the driving argument...
million years ago (mya); then came a contemporary australopithecine, Paranthropusboisei, 1.8 mya, followed by Homo erectus, 1.2 mya. Homo sapiens, which...
Zinj may refer to: Paranthropusboisei, nicknamed "Zinj" for its former name Zinjanthropus boisei Zinj, Bahrain, a suburb of Manama, Bahrain Zinj, alternate...
had died naturally. It has been suggested that the extinct hominin Paranthropusboisei (the "Nutcracker Man") subsisted on tiger nuts. Cyperus esculentus...
all the way up to the largest tooth area, 756mm2, which is seen in Paranthropusboisei . After Australopithecus, a trend of steady decline in postcanine...
Australopithecus africanus Australopithecus sediba Paranthropus aethiopicus ParanthropusboiseiParanthropus robustus Pan troglodytes Pan paniscus Homo habilis...
sediba Australopithecus deyiremeda Paranthropus† Paranthropus aethiopicus Paranthropus robustus Paranthropusboisei Homo – close relatives of modern humans...
South African archaic human species Paranthropusboisei – Extinct species of hominin of East Africa Paranthropus robustus – Extinct species of hominin...
hominins, being variously placed as ancestral to Homo and Paranthropus, to just Paranthropus, or to just P. robustus. The specimen "Little Foot" is the...
Earliest known specimen of the genus Homo Paranthropusboisei – Extinct species of hominin of East Africa Paranthropus robustus – Extinct species of hominin...
present on the skulls of other Paranthropines, including Paranthropusboisei and Paranthropus robustus.[citation needed] The shrinking of the sagittal...
expedition harder than it wished. In 1969 the discovery of a cranium of Paranthropusboisei caused great excitement. A Homo rudolfensis skull (KNM ER 1470) and...
gnathic reduction, relatively small post-canine teeth (compared to Paranthropusboisei), Homo-like pattern of craniofacial development, and a precision...
the human genus, Homo habilis as well as early hominidae, such as Paranthropusboisei.[citation needed] The Olduvai Gorge is a steep-sided ravine in the...
radiometrically dated to approximately 3.9–3.0 million years BP, Paranthropusboisei (c. 2.3–1.4 million years BP) and Homo ergaster (c. 1.9 million–600...
difficult to perform tasks unrelated to the programme; actors in Paranthropusboisei costumes for instance found it difficult to eat their lunch and drinking...
Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, led to the identification of a new species, Paranthropusboisei. In 1960, the Leakeys discovered the fossil OH 7, also at Olduvai...
suggested it is a possible ancestor of two species: Paranthropusboisei, of east Africa, and Paranthropus robustus, of South Africa. List of fossil sites...
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