Homo rudolfensis

In 1986, Russian scientist V.P. Alexeev named the species Homo rudolfensis after researching an earlier discovery of KNM-ER 1470 fossils (in 1972) near the shores of Lake Rudolf (now known as Lake Turkana) and identified different characteristics to Homo habilis from KNM-ER 1470. Although Homo rudolfensis had a similar appearance to Homo habilis, it had a larger braincase, and differently-shaped teeth and jaws. However, some scholars think that such anatomical differences are simply due to differences between the sexes rather than to the existence of two separate species. Today, most scholars who recognize Homo rudolfensis believe that four species - Homo rudolfensis, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Paranthropus boisei - lived together in the Turkana Basin, northern Kenya, sometime between 2.0 and 1.5 million years ago. H. rudolfensis is also believed to have used tools like other species of the Homo genus. There are still many questions to be answered regarding the Homo genus, such as: Which of the species of Homo living around Lake Turkana in Eastern Africa used the stone tools first? And which species is directly related to modern humans?

Place of Settlement: Kenya
Period: Approx. 1.8 to 1.9 million years ago
Discovery Site: Koobi Fora, Lake Turkana basin, Kenya
Species: Homo rudolfensis
Cranial Capacity: Approx. 750-800cc
Major Characteristics: Originally the fossil was considered to be H. habilis, but due to anatomical differences, it was classified as H. rudolfensis.