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Introduction: Issues in the Life and Times of Australopithecus

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The Paleobiology of Australopithecus

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

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Abstract

Australopithecus species have been a topic of debate in paleoanthropology since the original description by Dart in 1925. The Stony Brook University/Turkana Basin Institute sponsored workshop on this subject occurred in September 2007. Participants designated various Australopithecus species as knowns, others as known unknowns (i.e., those for which there was limited fossil material), and “biological realities?” such as Australopithecus bahrelghazali. The chapters in this volume address many questions that arose from these discussions—especially those regarding the paleobiology of the genus: phylogenetic validity, dating problems, biogeography, diet and especially fallback foods, sexual dimorphism, use of stone tools, and reconciling pattern and process in a fossil record of unequal scales.

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Correspondence to Kaye E. Reed .

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Reed, K.E. (2013). Introduction: Issues in the Life and Times of Australopithecus . In: Reed, K., Fleagle, J., Leakey, R. (eds) The Paleobiology of Australopithecus. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5919-0_1

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