cooper’s d, bloubank valley, gauteng

Paranthropus robustus, the heavy chewers of the human lineage, have been found at multiple sites in South Africa, including Cooper’s D. Dating to ~1.5-1.4 Ma, the Cooper’s D assemblage is the best constrained age for P. robustus in southern Africa, and provides a unique habitat reconstruction that is clearly situated both temporally and geographically. Lab members are working with colleagues in South Africa to more accurately reconstruct the paleoecological needs of P. robustus and to better understand their evolutionary fate.

Works related to Paranthropus ecology:

Hanon, R., Pean, S., Patou-Mathis, M., Prat, S., Rector, A.L., Steininger, C. 2022. Fossil Bovidae from the Hominini-bearing site of Cooper’s D (Bloubank Valley, South Africa): implications for Paranthropus robustus (Broom, 1938 and early Homo Linneaus, 1758) habitat preferences. Comptes Rendus Palevol 21 (21), 431-450.

Rector, A.L., Reed, K.E., Smail, I.E., O’Neill, K.D., 2026. Estimating climate parameters from large mammal community structure for eastern African Paranthropus localities.In Constantino, P.J., Reed, K.E., Wood, B.A. (Eds), The Forgotten Lineage(s): Paleobiology of Paranthropus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-05485-2_12‍ ‍