Australopithecus fossil map
Where fossils of Australopithecus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 5 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Human relatives |
|---|---|
| Lived | 11.63–0.0117 million years ago (Tortonian to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Hominidae |
| Named by | Dart 1925 |
| Fossil records | 85 occurrences at 57 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Chad, Tanzania |
| Rock formations | Hadar, Shungura, txn:40899, Chemoigut, Kanapoi, Chemeron |
About Australopithecus
Australopithecus (, OS-trə-lə-PITH-i-kəs, -loh-; or, os-TRA-lə-pi-THEE-kəs, from Latin australis 'southern' and Ancient Greek πίθηκος (píthēkos) 'ape') is an extinct genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genera Homo (which includes modern humans), Paranthropus, and Kenyanthropus evolved from some Australopithecus species. Australopithecus is a member of the subtribe Australopithecina, which sometimes also includes Ardipithecus, though the term "australopithecine" is sometimes used to refer only to members of Australopithecus. Species include A. garhi, A. africanus, A. sediba, A. afarensis, A. anamensis, A. bahrelghazali, and A. deyiremeda. Debate exists as to whether some Australopithecus species should be reclassified into new genera, or if Paranthropus and Kenyanthropus are synonymous with Australopithecus, in part because of the taxonomic inconsistency.
Furthermore, because e.g. A. africanus is more closely related to humans, or their ancestors at the time, than e.g. A. anamensis and many more Australopithecus branches, Australopithecus cannot be consolidated into a coherent grouping without also including the genus Homo and other genera.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Australopithecus (revision 1378881485), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 22 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q103237.
