Australopithecus anamensis -- KNM-KP 29281

Australopithecus anamensis -- KNM-KP 29281

KNM-KP 29281 is a 4.1 million-year-old mandible from Kenya that has been designated as the type specimen for the species Australopithecus anamensis.

Peter Nzube

KNM-KP 29281

Kenya

Kanapoi

September 10, 1994

4.1 million years ago

This adult mandible, which contains all the teeth, is small, narrow, and has significantly straight and parallel tooth rows, similar to what is seen in Miocene ape mandibles. When examined from a lateral view, one can see that the specimen is missing both ascending rami. Additionally, the mandible has a mandibular torus--a bony buttress found along the lingual side of the premolars.

As for tooth morphology, KNM-KP 29281 has large molars, canines that are larger than those seen in later Australopithecines, a thick enamel, and a small canine/premolar diastema. These tooth morphologies give Au. anamensis a more primitive status among the Australopithecines.

Johanson, Donald, and Blake Edgar. From Lucy to Language. New York, Nevraumont Publishing Company, 2006, pp. 129-30

Conroy, Glenn C., and Herman Pontzer. Reconstructing Human Origins: A Modern Synthesis. 3rd ed., New York & London, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012, pp. 238-40.

Hefner, Joseph. "Australopithecus anamensis." Michigan State University, 23 Feb. 2012, East Lansing. 

Images from:
Johanson, Donald, and Blake Edgar. From Lucy to Language. New York, Nevraumont Publishing Company, 2006, pp. 129-30