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''Paranthropus robustus'' (or ''Australopithecus robustus'') is an early hominin, originally discovered in Southern Africa in 1938. Particularly regarding cranial features, the development of ''P. robustus'' seemed to be in the direction of a "heavy-chewing complex". On account of the definitive traits associated with this "robust" line of australopithecine, anthropologist Robert Broom established the genus ''Paranthropus'' and placed this species in it. ''Paranthropus robustus'' is generally dated to have lived between 2.0 and 1.2 million years ago. It had large jaws and jaw muscles with the accompanying sagittal crest, and post-canine teeth that were adapted to serve in the dry environment they lived in. ==Discovery== After Raymond Dart’s discovery of ''Australopithecus africanus'', Broom had been in favour of Dart's claims about ''Australopithecus africanus'' being an ancestor of ''Homo sapiens''. Broom was a Scottish doctor then working in South Africa who began making his own excavation in Southern Africa to find more specimens, which Dart had found earlier. In 1938, at 70 years old, Broom, excavating at Kromdraai, South Africa discovered pieces of a skull and teeth which resembled Dart's ''Australopithecus africanus'' find, but the skull had some "robust" characteristics. The fossils included parts of a skull and teeth; all dated to 2 million years old. Fossil sites found on ''Paranthropus robustus'' are found only in South Africa in Kromdraai, Swartkrans, Drimolen, Gondolin and Coopers. In the cave at Swartkrans, the remains of 130 individuals were discovered. The study made on the dentition of the hominins revealed that the average ''P. robustus'' rarely lived past 17 years of age. ''Paranthropus robustus'' was the first discovery of a "robust" species of hominin; it was found well before ''P. boisei'' and ''P. aethiopicus''. Broom's discovery was the second australopithecine after ''Australopithecus africanus'', which Dart discovered. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Paranthropus robustus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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