Australopithecus africanus

Hominid that lived in Africa about 3 million to 2 million ya and was contemporary with the more heavily-built Australopithecus robustus. Fossils from Taung and Makapansgat in South Africa and Koobi Fora in Tanzania suggest that this was a small hominid with teeth similar to those of humans. It is possibly the ancestor of Homo habilis, though the human genus may have evolved earlier from Australopithecus afarensis.