What are the evolutionary relationships among the genera Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo?

Question

When and where do they occur in the fossil record, and what were they like?

Answer 1

Australopithecus were probably ancestral to Homo and Paranthropus.

Australopithecus ranges from about 4 million to 2 million years ago in eastern and southern Africa. They walked on two legs but were small and had a small brain. Males were a lot bigger (relatively) than females.

Paranthropus ranges from about 2.7 to 1 million years ago and was more robust than Australopithecus.

Homo ranges from about 2.5 million years ago to the present. They were the to first move out of Africa, in to Europe and Asia. They were also probably the first to make stone tool. Species had bigger and bigger brains until us.

Here's some links:

Answer 2

Here, meet our relatives:

Sahelanthropus tchadensis. 6 to 7 million years ago
Ardipithecus ramidus - 5 to 4 million years ago
Australopithecus afarensis - 4 to 2.7 million years ago
Australopithecus africanus - 3.0 to 2.0 million years ago
Australopithecus robustus - 2.2 to 1.0 million years ago
Homo habilis - 2.2 to 1.6 million years ago
Homo erectus - 2 to 0.4 million years ago
Homo sapiens - 400,000 to 200,000 years ago
Homo sapiens neandertalensis - 200,000 to 30,000 years ago
Homo sapiens sapiens - 130,000 years ago to present

I think that Paranthropus are now classified as Australopithecus. Go to the link for more info

Answer 3

I think the Homo did both the Australopithecus, Paranthropus

Answer 4

Check out http://www.talkorigins.org

Answer 5

Isn't this a bit like a 'role playing' game? It's already been proven that these feeble attempts were merely ape skulls. One of them had only a jawbone to imagine the rest by.

'Scientists' posing as clairvoyants is nothing new.

Answer 6

LOL
Thats sooo funny!!