EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE “ROBUST” AUSTRALOPITHECINES

By H. LUSAT

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: ISSUES IN THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AUSTRALOPITHECUS PART I GEOLOGICAL AND PALEONTOLOGICAL CONTEXT AGE RANGES OF AUSTRALOPITHECUS SPECIES, KENYA, ETHIOPIA, AND TANZANIA A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE ON THE AGE OF AUSTRALOPITHECUS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA RECONSTRUCTING THE HABITATS OF AUSTRALOPITHECUS: PALEOENVIRONMENTS, SITE TAPHONOMY, AND FAUNAS PART II SITES AND SPECIES AUSTRALOPITHECUS IN ETHIOPIA THE ALPHA TAXONOMY OF AUSTRALOPITHECUS AFRICANUS AUSTRALOPITHECUS FROM STERKFONTEIN CAVES, SOUTH AFRICA VARIATION IN MANDIBULAR POSTCANINE DENTAL MORPHOLOGY AND HOMININ SPECIES REPRESENTATION IN MEMBER 4, STERKFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA AUSTRALOPITHECUS SEDIBA FROM MALAPA, SOUTH AFRICA PART III BIOGEOGRAPHY COMPARATIVE EVOLUTIONARY MODELS AND THE ‘‘AUSTRALOPITH RADIATIONS’’ WHENCE AUSTRALOPITHECUS AFRICANUS? COMPARING THE SKULLS OF SOUTH AFRICAN AND EAST AFRICAN AUSTRALOPITHECUS THE BIOGEOGRAPHIC IMPLICATIONS OF EARLY HOMININ PHYLOGENY PART IV PALEOBIOLOGY SEXUAL SIZE DIMORPHISM IN AUSTRALOPITHECUS: CURRENT UNDERSTANDING AND NEW DIRECTIONS MOLAR MICROWEAR, DIET AND ADAPTATION IN A PURPORTED HOMININ SPECIES LINEAGE FROM THE PLIOCENE OF EAST AFRICA SOME RUMINATIONS ON AUSTRALOPITH DIETS POSTURAL AND LOCOMOTOR ADAPTATIONS OF AUSTRALOPITHECUS SPECIES SHOULDER MORPHOLOGY IN EARLY HOMININ EVOLUTION AGE AND SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE LOCOMOTOR SKELETON OF AUSTRALOPITHECUS