Overview
- A peer-reviewed paper in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology led by Jesse Martin argues the StW 573 skeleton does not share unique traits with Australopithecus africanus or the A. prometheus specimen MLD 1.
- The authors report no morphological basis to assign Little Foot to A. prometheus and contend the name aligns with A. africanus rather than a separate species.
- The team proposes Little Foot may represent a previously unrecognized Australopithecus yet declines to name it, calling for further evidence and inviting the long-term excavation team to define it.
- Little Foot, recovered from South Africa’s Sterkfontein caves, is among the most complete Australopithecus fossils and shows bipedal anatomy with likely tree-foraging and sleeping behaviors.
- Key uncertainties persist, including wide-ranging age estimates of roughly 2.2 million to 3.67 million years and the need for broader community validation.