Question

What evolutionary pressures could have resulted in the morphological adaptations of the robust Australopithecus (also known as Paranthropus) (species: Australopithecus aethiopicus, Australopithecus robust, Australopithecus Boise). Why do you think they became extinct?

Answer 1

The australopithecus are a gathering of early hominins that lived in Africa between around 4.1 and 1.4 million years prior.

Dietary adjustments unmistakably assumed a significant job in molding their morphological development history.

1. The vigorous species are totally portrayed by broadened cheek teeth, enormous biting muscles, and changes to their facial skeleton that are thought to either build the influence of those muscles or to support the face against the heaps forced by high or monotonous nibble powers that would have been applied to the teeth.

2. They used to eat grasses and seeds other than foods grown from the ground.

3. In the skull, the gnawing and biting puts particular weight or burden ,so these may be the factors which may have affected development of powerful faces and jaws in Australopithecus in early pleistocene period.

Reason for extinction

Australopithecus became ectinct 1.4 million years ago. The reason behind their extinction is not clearly understood.

Two hypotheses are proposed to explain their extinction. First, due to extreme climate change, scarcity of resources occurred and that may be one of the possible reasons for their disappearance.

On the other hand, the fallback nourishments may have developed to turn out to be so precisely safe that not even vigorous australopithecus could get to them. This, as well, may have prompted australopith extinction.