Kenyanthropus - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The fossils of Kenyanthropus platyops indicate that hominins were more taxonomically diverse during the middle Pliocene. The discovery of this fossil also dated non forward-projecting jaws further back than previous discoveries. The facial structure of the Kenyanthropus and its derived features were very different of that of the Paranthropus, in that almost every cranial feature is different. This gave no reason to assign the new skull in the genus Paranthropus, unless it could somehow be linked to be a previous version of the Paranthropus. With this possibility in mind, it is still thought that the differences in cranial structure are too different for even that to be a possibility. The Kenyanthropus also shows many differences to Homo, as well as Ardipithecus, which leaves only the Australopithecus. The cranial structure of the Kenyanthropus has a few similarities to the Australopithecus, such as brain size, parts of the nasal, the suborbital and the temporal regions, but the differences far outweigh the similarities leading to its new genus. Kenyanthropus Platyops has caused us to rethink the origins of modern humans. Having smaller molars at the date they existed, it is possible that the previous sister taxon of all modern hominins, afarensis, should be replaced by Kenyanthropus. Fragmentary specimens which were having trouble being classified are now being assessed to see if they fit with the Kenyanthropus.