Did more than one species of hominid coexist before 3.0 Ma? Evidence from blood and teeth

Recent discoveries of early fossil hominids from the Hadar Formation in Ethiopia were interpreted as confirming "the taxonomic unity of Australopithecus afarensis and constitute the largest body of evidence for about 0.9 million years of stasis' (Kimbel et al., 1994). New clinal analyses of cranial blood flow patterns in australopithecines and new comparisons of dental measurements from Aramis, Laetoli and Hadar are presented. These data fail to support either the conclusion that one species is represented at the latter two sites or that dental evolution between 3.9 and 3.0 Ma was static. -Authors