Australopithecus

Genus of hominin ancestral to modern humans

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.

From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA. More on occurri.