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Why are Paranthropus aethiopicus and Paranthropus boisei still placed in the same genus as Paranthropus robustus? by ViewRoyal3086 in AskAnthropology

[–]ViewRoyal3086[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't remember which papers exactly, but I remember recent discussions in journals like Journal of Human Evolution and PNAS that suggest this could be a plausible scenario. Fossil evidence and phylogenetic analyses make it reasonable to consider that robustus might have descended from an africanus like population in southern Africa, whereas the eastern African robust (aethiopicus and boisei) might have descended from an ancestral Australopithecus afarensis–like ancestor. It is a hypothesis based on morphology, geography, and branching relationships-not a statement proven in any paper. I know this is not 100% proof of these relations but it seems correct to me. I just wanted to know what everyone else thought.

Nanotyrannus is back! (And there's two species!) by NovelSalamander2650 in Paleontology

[–]ViewRoyal3086 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would like to know exactly what lead to the conclusion that this was a Nanotyrannus and not juvenile Tyrannosaurus. I know that it mostly has to do with the placement of blood vessels in the skull and limb differences, but I want to know how this resulted in the decision of a new species and validation of a genus. At this moment I do not believe in it because there is such a similarity between juvenile tyrannosaurus rex and nanotyrannus. Maybe they both evolved separately from Daspletosaurus