Editing Paranthropus (section)

===Skull===
''Paranthropus'' had a massively built, tall and flat skull, with a prominent [[gorilla]]-like [[sagittal crest]] along the midline which anchored large [[temporalis muscle]]s used in chewing.<ref name=Wood2004/> Like other australopithecines, ''Paranthropus'' exhibited sexual dimorphism, with males notably larger than females.<ref name=Wood2000/><ref name=McHenry1991a/><ref name=McHenry1991b/> They had large [[molar tooth|molars]] with a relatively thick [[tooth enamel]] coating ([[post-canine megadontia]]),<ref>{{cite journal|first1=A. J.|last1=Olejniczak|first2=T. M.|last2=Smith|first3=M. M.|last3=Skinner|display-authors=et al.|year=2008|title=Three-dimensional molar enamel distribution and thickness in ''Australopithecus'' and ''Paranthropus''|journal=Biology Letters|volume=4|issue=4|pages=406–410|doi=10.1098/rsbl.2008.0223|pmid=18522924|pmc=2610159}}</ref> and comparatively small [[incisor]]s (similar in size to modern [[human]]s),<ref>{{cite journal|first1=P. S.|last1=Ungar|first2=F. E.|last2=Grine|year=1991|title=Incisor size and wear in ''Australopithecus africanus'' and ''Paranthropus robustus''|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=20|issue=4|pages=313–340|doi=10.1016/0047-2484(91)90013-L|bibcode=1991JHumE..20..313U }}</ref> possibly adaptations to processing abrasive foods.<ref name=Williams2015>{{cite journal|first=F. L.|last=Williams|year=2015|title=Dietary proclivities of ''Paranthropus robustus'' from Swartkrans, South Africa|journal=Anthropological Review|volume=78|issue=1|pages=1–19|doi=10.1515/anre-2015-0001|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=Wood2012>{{cite journal|first1=B.|last1=Wood|first2=K.|last2=Schroer|year=2012|title=Reconstructing the Diet of an Extinct Hominin Taxon: The Role of Extant Primate Models|journal=International Journal of Primatology|volume=33|issue=3|pages=716–742|doi=10.1007/s10764-012-9602-7|s2cid=15983306}}</ref> The teeth of ''P. aethiopicus'' developed faster than those of ''P. boisei''.<ref>{{cite journal|first=F. V.|last=Ramirez-Rozzi|year=1993|title=Tooth development in East African ''Paranthropus''|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=24|issue=6|pages=429–454|doi=10.1006/jhev.1993.1030|bibcode=1993JHumE..24..429R }}</ref>

''Paranthropus'' had adaptations to the skull to resist large bite loads while feeding, namely the expansive [[squamosal suture]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=C.|last1=Dzialo|first2=S. A.|last2=Wood|first3=M.|last3=Berthaume|display-authors=et al.|year=2013|title=Functional implications of squamosal suture size in ''Paranthropus boisei''|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|volume=153|issue=2|pages=260–268|doi=10.1002/ajpa.22427|pmid=24242913}}</ref> The notably thick [[palate]] was once thought to have been an adaptation to resist a high bite force, but is better explained as a byproduct of facial lengthening and nasal anatomy.<ref>{{cite journal|first=M. A.|last=McCollum|year=1998|title=Palatal thickening and facial form in ''Paranthropus'': Examination of alternative developmental models|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|volume=103|issue=3|pages=375–392|doi=10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199707)103:3<375::AID-AJPA7>3.0.CO;2-P|pmid=9261500|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In ''P. boisei'', the [[temporomandibular joint|jaw hinge]] was adapted to grinding food side-to-side (rather than up-and-down in modern humans), which is better at processing the [[starch]]y abrasive foods that likely made up the bulk of its diet. ''P. robustus'' may have chewed in a front-to-back direction instead, and had less exaggerated (less [[synapomorphy and apomorphy|derived]]) anatomical features than ''P. boisei'' as it perhaps did not require them with this kind of chewing strategy. This may have also allowed ''P. robustus'' to better process tougher foods.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=K.|last1=Kupczik|first2=V.|last2=Toro-Ibacache|first3=G. A.|last3=Macho|year=2018|title=On the relationship between maxillary molar root shape and jaw kinematics in ''Australopithecus africanus'' and ''Paranthropus robustus''|journal=Royal Society Open Science|volume=5|issue=8|page=180825|doi=10.1098/rsos.180825|pmc=6124107|pmid=30225074|bibcode=2018RSOS....580825K}}</ref>

The braincase volume averaged about {{cvt|500|cm3}}, comparable to gracile australopithecines, but smaller than ''Homo''.<ref name=Du2018>{{cite journal|first1=A.|last1=Du|first2=A. M.|last2=Zipkin|first3=K. G.|last3=Hatala|display-authors=et al.|year=2018|title=Pattern and process in hominin brain size evolution are scale-dependent|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B|volume=285|issue=1873|pages=20172738|doi=10.1098/rspb.2017.2738|pmc=5832710|pmid=29467267}}</ref> Modern human brain volume averages {{cvt|1270|cm3}} for men and {{cvt|1130|cm3}} for women.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=J. S.|last1=Allen|first2=H.|last2=Damasio|first3=T. J.|last3=Grabowski|year=2002|title=Normal neuroanatomical variation in the human brain: an MRI-volumetric study|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|volume=118|issue=4|pages=341–358|doi=10.1002/ajpa.10092|pmid=12124914|s2cid=21705705}}</ref>