Re: Hominid Family Tree

Jim Foley (jimf@vangelis.FtCollins.NCR.com)
12 Oct 1995 19:04:34 GMT

In article <45hds3$i3d@bubba.nmsu.edu>, William Baird <wbaird@nmsu.edu> wrote:
>Okay, I got sick of the AAT posts in here and got to playing around with
>ascii and thought I'd put together a family tree. If there are some
>glaring mistakes, please inform.
>
>Domo Arigato,
> Will
>
>
>*****As current as current can be for this***********
>
> Homo Sapiens Sapiens
> |
> |
> Homo Neandertalis Homo Sapiens [Cro-Magnon Man]

Note that Cro-Magnon man is considered to be H.s.sapiens. And that
should be H.neanderthalensis.

> | |
> | |
> | Homo Rudolfensis [formerly archaic H. Sapiens]
> | |

You mean H.heidelbergensis here. H.rudolfensis is one of the species
that H.habilis may well get split into.

> | |
> Homo Erectus Homo Ergaster [another form of H Erectus with
> | | different skeletal character-
> | | istics]
> +-------+---------------+
> |
> |
> Homo Habilis* Australopithecus Robustus
> | |
> | |
> +-------+-------+
> |
> Australopithecus Africanus Australopithecus Boisei
> | |
> | |
> Australopithecus Afarensis A. ????? [Black Skull]
> | |

Some people think africanus and/or afarensis may not be a direct human
ancestor, but

> | |
> +---------------+---------------+

I think many people put robustus, boisei and the Black Skull
(aethiopicus) in the same clade, and give them all a genus name of
Paranthropus. And aethiopicus and boisei, if they are separate, would
have split off after afarensis or africanus, rather than before
afarensis. I think boisei and robustus are a lot more similar than they
look on your diagram.

> |
> |
> Aridpithecus Ramidus Australopithecus Anamensis
> | |

Actually I have seen a suggestion by one paleoanthropologist that it may
be ramidus that is on the human line, and anamensis that is slightly off
it. (if this is true, I think anamensis would have to be put in a
separate genus, otherwise Australopithecus would be paraphyletic. Is
this so???) But both species are so poorly known that I doubt anyone is
going to be dogmatic about it.

> | |
> Chimps +---------------+---------------+
> | ^
> +-------+ ^
> | | Gorilla
> +-------<<------+ |
> | +-- > >---+
> Common Ancestor |
> | |
> +-------+
> |

Not everyone accepts neanderthalensis, heidelbergensis, rudolfensis, and
ergaster as species. Also, the second part of species names should be
in all lower case.

--

Jim (Chris) Foley,                 jim.foley@symbios.com

Assoc. Prof. of Omphalic Envy      Research interest:

Department of Anthropology         Primitive hominids

University of Ediacara             (Australopithecus creationistii)