Black Skull Man

Paranthropus aethiopicus

Background

Date range: 2.7 - 2.3 million years ago 
Homeland: Turkana basin of Northern Kenya, Southern Ethiopia (Eastern Africa)
Diet: Mostly vegetarian; very abrasive and tough diet
Cranial Capacity: 410 cc
Habitat: Wet grasslands, semi arid savannah and woodlands
Distinguishing Features: prognathic facial shape; large megadont teeth; prominent sagittal crest (indicating large chewing muscles); likely large fore limbs and large bodies (but insufficient fossil evidence to quanitfy size); sexually dimorphic species 

Do you think the Black skull will
be the survivor?

This hominid species has very little known about it, so it is unlikely that it could survive the evolutionary competition, but maybe the Black Skull will surprise us! Found in 1985, the Black Skull was the earliest robust australopithecine found thus far. 

Important fossils belonging to this contestant:

KNM WT 17000 - Black Skull - only adult skull discovered so far; dark black because of minerals in the soil 

Omo 18-1967-18 - partial mandible discovered in Ethiopia; it is the type fossil for the species 

Works referenced: 
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/paranthropus-aethiopicus
http://australianmuseum.net.au/paranthropus-species
http://www.efossils.org/species/paranthropus-aethiopicus

Photo sources: 
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/paranthropus-aethiopicus
http://antropogenez.ru/uploads/tx_fossils/Omo_18-1967-18.jpg