Paranthropus boisei

Paranthropus boisei was found at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania by the anthropologist Mary Leakey, wife of the famous anthropologist Louis Leakey, in 1959. In the period following its discovery, the fossil was called Zinjanthropus boisei’, but it was also called Australopithecus boisei’. However, as anatomical differences between Australopithecus and Paranthropus were recently identified, the species was renamed Paranthropus boisei. Due to its robust, well-developed jaw muscles, it is believed that Paranthropus boisei was able to eat solid foods, and was thus nicknamed ‘Nutcracker Man’. Paranthropus boisei is believed to have lived between 2.5 and 1.2 million years ago throughout Eastern Africa, and is estimated to have weighed about 45kg, stood about 1m tall, and had a brain with a volume of about 530cc.

Place of Settlement: Tanzania
Period: About 3 million years ago
Discovery Site: Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
Species: Paranthropus boisei
Nick-name: Nutcracker Man, signifying its characteristically strong jaw
Cranial Capacity: About 530cc
Major Characteristics: Wide flat face, solid molars, and heavy brow ridge.
Originally, it was classified as Zinjanthropus.