Kenyanthropus platyops
| Kenyanthropus platyops Temporal range: Pliocene | |
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| Genus: | Kenyanthropus |
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| †Kenyanthropus platyops Leakey et al., 2001 | |
Kenyanthropus platyops (flat-faced man from Kenya) is an extinct hominid species discovered in Lake Turkana, Kenya in 1999. It was found by Justus Erus, who was part of Meave Leakey's team.
The fossil is 3.5 to 3.2 million years old. It has a broad flat face with a toe bone that suggests it probably walked upright. Its teeth are intermediate between typical human and typical ape forms.
Leakey proposed that the fossil represents an entirely new hominin genus. Others classify it as a separate species of Australopithecus: Australopithecus platyops. Still others interpret it as an individual of Australopithecus afarensis.
If some palaeoanthropologists are correct, Kenyanthropus may not even represent a valid taxon. The specimen is so distorted by matrix-filled cracks that meaningful morphological characteristics are next to impossible to assess with confidence.[clarification needed]
References
- ↑ News, Opening Hours Open Daily 10am-5pmClosed Christmas DayFree General Entry Address 1 William StreetSydney NSW 2010 Australia Phone +61 2 9320 6000 www australian museum Copyright © 2026 The Australian Museum ABN 85 407 224 698 View Museum. "Kenyanthropus platyops". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ Kenyanthropus platyops
- ↑ Leakey, Meave G.; Spoor, Fred; Brown, Frank H.; Gathogo, Patrick N.; Kiarie, Christopher; Leakey, Louise N.; McDougall, Ian (2001). "New hominin genus from eastern Africa shows diverse middle Pliocene lineages". Nature. 410 (6827): 433–440. Bibcode:2001Natur.410..433L. doi:10.1038/35068500. PMID 11260704. S2CID 4409453.
Other websites
Media related to Kenyanthropus platyops at Wikimedia Commons
