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The term ''australopithecines'' refers generally to all species in the related genera of ''Australopithecus'' and ''Paranthropus'', and it is typically intended to include members of ''Kenyanthropus'', ''Ardipithecus'', and ''Praeanthropus''. Further, all these related species are now collectively classified by some as a subtribe, Australopithecina, of the Hominini tribe. They are the extinct, close relatives of humans and, with the extant genus ''Homo'', comprise the human clade. Members of the human clade, that is, the Hominini after the split from the chimpanzees, are now called hominins (''see Hominidae; terms "hominids" and hominins''). The terms ''australopithecine'', et al., come from a former classification as members of a distinct subfamily, the Australopithecinae. Members of ''Australopithecus'' are sometimes referred to as the ''gracile australopithecines'', while ''Paranthropus'' are called the "robust australopithecines". The australopithecines occurred in the Plio-Pleistocene era and were bipedal, and they were dentally similar to humans, but with a brain size not much larger than that of modern apes, with lesser encephalization than in the genus ''Homo''. Humans (genus ''Homo'') may have descended from australopithecine ancestors and the genus ''Ardipithecus'' is a possible ancestor of the australopithecines.〔 == Phylogeny == Phylogeny of subtribe Australopithecina according to . *Australopithecina * *''Australopithecus'' * * *''A. afarensis'' * * *''A. africanus'' * * *''A. anamensis'' * * *''A. bahrelghazali'' * * *''A. garhi'' * * *''A. sediba'' * *''Paranthropus'' * * *''P. robustus'' * * *''P. boisei'' * * *''P. aethiopicus'' * *''Ardipithecus'' * * *''A. ramidus'' * * *''A. kadabba'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「australopithecine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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