Paranthropus aethiopicus

Paranthropus aethiopicus Temporal range: Pliocene-Pleistocene, 2.7–2.3 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Reconstruction of KNM WT 17000
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	Hominidae
Subfamily:	Homininae
Tribe:	Hominini
Genus:	†Paranthropus
Species:	†P. aethiopicus
Binomial name
†Paranthropus aethiopicus Arambourg and Coppens, 1968
Synonyms
Paraustralopithecus aethiopicus Arambourg and Coppens, 1968 Australopithecus aethiopicus Walker and Leakey, 1985 (preoccupied) Australopithecus walkeri Ferguson, 1989

Paranthropus aethiopicus is an extinct species of robust australopithecine from the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of East Africa about 2.7–2.3 million years ago. However, it is much debated whether or not Paranthropus is an invalid grouping and is synonymous with Australopithecus, so the species is also often classified as Australopithecus aethiopicus.^[1] Whatever the case, it is considered to have been the ancestor of the much more robust P. boisei. It is debated if P. aethiopicus should be subsumed under P. boisei, and the terms P. boisei sensu lato ("in the broad sense") and P. boisei sensu stricto ("in the strict sense") can be used to respectively include and exclude P. aethiopicus from P. boisei.

Like other Paranthropus, P. aethiopicus had a tall face, thick palate, and especially enlarged cheek teeth. However, likely due to its archaicness, it also diverges from other Paranthropus, with some aspects resembling the much earlier A. afarensis. P. aethiopicus is known primarily by the skull KNM WT 17000 from West Lake Turkana, Kenya, as well as some jawbones from Koobi Fora; the Shungura Formation, Ethiopia; and Laetoli, Tanzania. These locations featured bushland to open woodland landscapes with edaphic (water-logged) grasslands.