The earliest member of this taxonomic group, found
The earliest member of this taxonomic group, found in 1994, is distinguished from earlier groups in part by a thickening of the tooth enamel.  A lower jaw discovered at Koro Toro in northern Chad turned out to be from a new variety, and the first source of the most recent variety was a child's skull found at Taung.  Footprints discovered in Laetoli showed that the most famous variety developed a forward-pointing big toe and arched feet, though Hadar was the source for the best example of this genus: Lucy.  Coined by Raymond Dart to mean "southern ape," FTP name this genus of hominins that lived from about 5.3 to 1.8 million years ago, and includes such species as africanus and afarensis.
The earliest member of this taxonomic group, found in 1994, is distinguished from earlier groups in part by a thickening of the tooth enamel.  
Australopithecus [accept Australopiths or Australopithecines; prompt on 'hominids' or 'hominins' before "genus"]