PBDB Taxon

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Australopithecus afarensis

Mammalia - Primates - Hominidae

Taxonomy

Australopithecus afarensis was named by Johanson et al. (1978). Its type specimen is L.H.-4, a mandible (mandibular corpus with broken RC, m1, m2, intact R and lp4, m3 lm1, m2), and it is a 3D body fossil.

It was synonymized subjectively with Praeanthropus africanus by Cela-Conde and Ayala (2003).

Subspecies

Homo antiquus praegens

Synonyms

Homo antiquus was named by Ferguson (1984) [type specimen is Lucy]. Its type specimen is A.L. 288-1, a partial skeleton, and it is not a trace fossil.

It was synonymized subjectively with Australopithecus afarensis by White et al. (1994).
Homo antiquus praegens was named by Ferguson (1989).

It was considered an invalid subgroup of Australopithecus afarensis by White et al. (1994).
Praeanthropus afarensis was named by Strait and Grine (2004).

It was synonymized subjectively with Australopithecus afarensis by MacLatchy et al. (2010).
Praeanthropus africanus was named by Weinert (1950) [definitely not the original combination, as the species predates the genus]. It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Australopithecus afarensis by Haile-Selassie (2010).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1950	Praeanthropus africanus Weinert
1978	Australopithecus afarensis Johanson et al.
1978	Australopithecus afarensis Johanson and et al.
1984	Homo antiquus Ferguson
1989	Homo antiquus praegens Ferguson
2004	Praeanthropus afarensis Strait and Grine
2010	Australopithecus afarensis Haile-Selassie

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
subclass	Synapsida
—	Therapsida	()
infraorder	Cynodontia	()
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes
class	Mammalia

Rank	Name	Author
—	Theriamorpha	(Rowe 1993)
—	Theriiformes	()
—	Trechnotheria
—	Cladotheria
—	Zatheria
subclass	Tribosphenida	()
subclass	Theria
—	Eutheria	()
—	Placentalia
—	Boreoeutheria
—	Euarchontoglires	Murphy et al. 2001
—	Euarchonta
order	Primates
infraorder	Haplorhini	(Pocock 1918)
—	Anthropoidea	(Mivart 1864)
infraorder	Catarrhini	Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1812
superfamily	Hominoidea	Gray 1825
family	Hominidae	Gray 1825
subfamily	Homininae	Gray 1825
tribe	Hominini	Gray 1825
genus	Australopithecus	Dart 1925
species	afarensis

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

†Australopithecus afarensis Johanson et al. 1978

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Invalid names: Homo antiquus Ferguson 1984 [synonym], Homo antiquus praegens Ferguson 1989 [invalid subgroup], Praeanthropus afarensis Strait and Grine 2004 [synonym], Praeanthropus africanus Weinert 1950 [synonym]

Diagnosis

No diagnoses are available