Australopithecus+robustus

== The species was discovered by a school boy, Gert Terblance, and was named by Dr Robert Broom. Broom liked to buy fossil remains from a lime quarry worker, and on his visit on June 8th 1938, he bought the first part of his discovery that contained the molar. The shape and size of the molar had Broom suspect that it was a different species from the A.africanus. He tracked down Gert, who had found the part in a cave while working in the cave as a guide on Sundays. They went to the cave where the molar was found, and Broom found more cranial and mandibular parts, so this particular cranium became the type specimen of Australopithecus Robustus.




 * Height:** 1.1-1.3 metres.
 * Weight:** 40-80 kilograms.
 * Known date:** 1-2 million years ago.
 * Distribution:** Southern Africa.
 * Physique:** Very heavy build, relatively long arms.
 * Skull form:** Crest on top of skull; long, broad, flattish face, moderate facial support.
 * Jaws/teeth:** Very thick jaws; small incisors and canines; large, molar-like premolars; very large molars.

The name "Robustus" was chosen to describe the skull, jaw and teeth which were more dense and thick than earlier species. They had a head shaped a bit like a gorilla's, but with a massive built jaw and teeth. There were more ridges and crests on the skull. Its' front teeth were smaller, but the molars in the back were lager. The characterists of their teeth show that their diet was of tough food and needed a lot of chewing from lower molars. An advancement in the Australopithecus Robustus was a sagittal crest. A saggital crest is a ridge that runs from the front to the back on top of the skull where muscles are attached. These muscles help in moving the jaw so they could chew. When more muscles are formed, more powerful chewing is possible.The Australopithecus Robustus ate a wide variety of nuts, roots and seeds because they lived in woodland areas.