Dental Morphology and the Phylogenetic “Place” of Australopithecus sediba

@article{Irish2013DentalMA,
  title={Dental Morphology and the Phylogenetic “Place” of Australopithecus sediba},
  author={Joel D. Irish and Debbie Guatelli‐Steinberg and Scott S. Legge and Darryl J. de Ruiter and Lee R. Berger},
  journal={Science},
  year={2013},
  volume={340}
}
To characterize further the Australopithecus sediba hypodigm, we describe 22 dental traits in specimens MH1 and MH2. Like other skeletal elements, the teeth present a mosaic of primitive and derived features. The new nonmetric data are then qualitatively and phenetically compared with those in eight other African hominin samples, before cladistic analyses using a gorilla outgroup. There is some distinction, largely driven by contrasting molar traits, from East African australopiths. However, Au… 
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73 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
9
Background Citations
24
Methods Citations
8
Results Citations
5

73 Citations

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Citation Type

Mandibular ramus shape of Australopithecus sediba suggests a single variable species.
Mandibular ramus morphology and species identification in Australopithecus sediba
  • J. Hawks
  • Biology, Environmental Science
    South African Journal of Science
  • 2022
TLDR
The evidence shows that there is no reason to separate MH1 and MH2 into different species or genera based upon mandibular ramus morphology, and this case illustrates how misleading small fragments of anatomy can be and why researchers should not use such fragments particularly for species and genus-level diagnoses.
Australopithecus sediba and the emergence of Homo: Questionable evidence from the cranium of the juvenile holotype MH 1.
Mandibular Remains Support Taxonomic Validity of Australopithecus sediba
TLDR
The morphology of mandibular remains of Australopithecus sediba shows that it is not merely a late-surviving morph of Au.
Ancient teeth, phenetic affinities, and African hominins: Another look at where Homo naledi fits in.
The affinities of Homo floresiensis based on phylogenetic analyses of cranial, dental, and postcranial characters.
Comparative biomechanics of Australopithecus sediba mandibles.
The apportionment of tooth size and its implications in Australopithecus sediba versus other Plio-pleistocene and recent African hominins.
TLDR
Australopithecus sediba appears most like H. habilis, H. erectus and H. sapiens regarding how crown size is apportioned along the tooth rows, and these findings parallel those in prior studies of dental and other skeletal data, including several that suggest A. sediba is a close relative of, if not ancestral to, Homo.
New fossils of Australopithecus sediba reveal a nearly complete lower back
TLDR
3D GM analyses show that MH2’s nearly complete middle lumbar vertebra is human-like in shape but bears large, cranially-directed transverse processes, implying powerful trunk musculature, and interpret this combination of features to indicate that A. sediba used its lower back in both human- like bipedalism and ape-like arboreal positional behaviors.
New fossils of Australopithecus sediba reveal a nearly complete lower back.
TLDR
Three-dimensional geometric morphometric analyses show that Malapa Hominin 2's nearly complete middle lumbar vertebra is human-like in overall shape but its vertebral body is somewhat intermediate in shape between modern humans and great apes, indicating powerful trunk musculature.
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