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Australopithecus anamensis (southern ape of the lake)
Discovered by Meave Leakey and the Kenya National Museum hominid team in 1994 at Kanapoi on the shore of Lake Turkana, northern Kenya. Australopithecus anamensis lived between 4.2 and 3.9 m.y.a. in riverine woodland or bushland. A single tibia (knee bone) is the earliest proof of bipedalism.
Australopithecus afarensis (southern ape of Afar)
The famous example, Lucy, was discovered in 1976 at Hadar, Ethiopia, by Don Johanson and was named after a Beetles song.
Fossil footprints attributed to afarensis were discovered at Laetoli, Tanzania, in 1978 by geochemist Paul I. Abell. Australopithecus afarensis lived between 3.8 and 2.8 m.y.a. in broken woodland (a mixture of terrestrial and arboreal habitat). Post-cranial bones show it was adept at walking upright and capable of running.
Australopithecus barelgazeli
In 1995 French paleontologist Michel Brunet discovered part of a fossilized jaw at Koro Toro, Chad (2,400 km west of the Eastern rift Valley), which closely resembled that of afarensis. This species is dated to 3.3 to 3 m.y.a.
Australopithecus garhi
Discovered by Tim White in 1997 near the village of Bouri, in the Afar region of Ethiopia -- garhi means surprise in the Afar dialect. Australopithecus garhi is dated to between 2.5 and 2.3 m.y.a., exhibits a mixture of gracile and robust features, and was found in association with stone tools.
Australopithecus africanus (southern ape of Africa)
The Taung skull, described by Raymond Dart in 1925, is the most famous example.
The skull is more developed than that of afarensis whilst the body is more primitive. Australopithecus africanus is dated to between 3 and 2.3 m.y.a. and lived in broken woodland -- although the light bone structure suggests it was primarily a tree dweller.
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