Nicknamed “Nutcracker Man” for its massive jaws and teeth, this species lived 2.6-1.2 million years ago
In 1959, a species later called A. boisei was discovered by Mary Leakey in the famous Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania, perhaps the best-known hominid fossil site in the world. In 1985, another remarkable skull [KNM WT 17000] was discovered near Lake Turkana in sediments 2.6 million years old.
Originally called Zinjanthropus boisei and then re-classified as Australopithecus boisei, it has recently been reassigned into the genus Paranthropus for the reasons outlined in the introduction to this section. It has massive grinding teeth and jaws and a large sagital crest. Adult males were less than 4 and a half feet tall and had brain capacities ranging from 500-550 cc.
