My Discovery

In 1967, French paleontologists discovered a partial mandible which is a piece of my jaw. They found it in Eastern Africa. Scientists were not sure who it belonged t at first because my mandible did not give enough information. But then in 1985, my skull was found! It was discovered in Kenya by Alan Walker and Richard Leakey.

Why Do I Look Like This?

My skull is black because of the minerals I absorbed from the soil I was in. I sat there absorbing the minerals for millions of years! My skull has a large sagittal crest which is the mohawk-like part on the top of my skull. My cheek muscles connect to this to give me a very strong bite. I also have a protruding face. Your brain is above your face, but my brain is behind my face. This gives my skull a shape like an upside-down bowl.

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When I died, my teeth fell out and couldn’t be found. However, scientists can use my jaw to tell what my teeth looked like. My teeth were large and flat, meaning I was a vegetarian. I may have eaten some bugs here or there but who hasn’t? For the most part, I ate lots of tough plants. Scientists only found my head, so no one knows how tall I was.

My Relatives

Next, I would like to introduce two of my close relatives. Their names are Paranthropus robustus and Paranthropus boisei.

Robustus was alive 1.8-1.2 million years ago. Scientists have studied his bones and they think he was around 3 feet and 9 inches tall. He also had a big sagittal crest, but it was not as big as mine. Like me, robustus liked to eat tough plant foods but he also liked to eat soft fruits. He also knew how to use bones as a shovel and dig for bugs!

Boisei was alive 2.3-1.2 million years ago and he is known as Nutcracker Man. He got this nickname because of his giant teeth that could break down the toughest of foods. His teeth are almost 4 times the size of an adult human! In order to fit such large teeth, boisei had a large jaw and large cheeks. He had a flatter face than robustus and I, as well as a skull that held a bigger brain. Scientists think that he was around 4 feet and 6 inches tall.

Robustus, boisei and I are unfortunately a genetic dead end. This means that we went extinct before we were able to extend our family tree even more. However, scientists have been able to study our bones and learn a lot from them! Being extinct may not be all bad. It allows me, the Black Skull, to remain mysterious. Who knows what the future holds. Maybe scientists will find more bones of family members that I didn’t even know I had.