Editing Paranthropus (section)

===Diet===
[[File:Paranthropus boisei side (University of Zurich).JPG|thumb|left|''P. boisei'' [[OH 5]]]]
It was once thought ''P. boisei'' cracked open nuts with its powerful teeth, giving OH 5 the nickname "Nutcracker Man". However, like gorillas, ''Paranthropus'' likely preferred soft foods, but would consume tough or hard food during leaner times, and the powerful jaws were used only in the latter situation.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=P. S.|last1=Ungar|first2=F. E.|last2=Grine|first3=M. F.|last3=Teaford|year=2008|title=Dental Microwear and Diet of the Plio-Pleistocene Hominin ''Paranthropus boisei''|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=3|issue=4|page=e2044|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0002044|pmc=2315797|pmid=18446200|bibcode=2008PLoSO...3.2044U|doi-access=free}}</ref> In ''P. boisei'', thick enamel was more likely used to resist abrasive gritty particles rather than to minimize chipping while eating hard foods.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=D.|last1=Rabenold|first2=O. M.|last2=Pearson|year=2011|title=Abrasive, Silica Phytoliths and the Evolution of Thick Molar Enamel in Primates, with Implications for the Diet of ''Paranthropus boisei''|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=6|issue=12|page=e28379|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0028379|pmc=3233556|pmid=22163299|bibcode=2011PLoSO...628379R|doi-access=free}}</ref> In fact, there is a distinct lack of tooth fractures which would have resulted from such activity.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Towle|first1=Ian|last2=Irish|first2=Joel D.|last3=Groote|first3=Isabelle De|date=2017|title=Behavioral inferences from the high levels of dental chipping in ''Homo naledi''|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|language=en|volume=164|issue=1|pages=184–192|doi=10.1002/ajpa.23250|pmid=28542710|s2cid=24296825 |issn=1096-8644|url=http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/6367/3/Towle%20et%20al%20Homo%20naledi%20chipping%20%282%29.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|year=2005|title=Hominins, sedges, and termites: new carbon isotope data from the Sterkfontein valley and Kruger National Park|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|language=en|volume=48|issue=3|pages=301–312|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.11.008|pmid=15737395|last1=Sponheimer|first1=M.|last2=Lee-Thorp|first2=J.|last3=De Ruiter|first3=D.|last4=Codron|first4=D.|last5=Codron|first5=J.|last6=Baugh|first6=A. T.|last7=Thackeray|first7=F.|bibcode=2005JHumE..48..301S |citeseerx=10.1.1.421.8468}}</ref>

''Paranthropus'' were generalist feeders, but diet seems to have ranged dramatically with location. The South African ''P. robustus'' appears to have been an omnivore, with a diet similar to contemporaneous ''Homo''<ref name=Wood2004>{{cite journal|first1=B.|last1=Wood|first2=D.|last2=Strait|year=2004|title=Patterns of resource use in early ''Homo'' and ''Paranthropus''|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=46|issue=2|pages=119–162|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2003.11.004|pmid=14871560|bibcode=2004JHumE..46..119W }}</ref> and nearly identical to the later ''[[H. ergaster]]'',<ref name=Lee2000>{{cite journal|first1=J.|last1=Lee-Thorp|first2=J. F.|last2=Thackeray|first3=N. V.|last3=der Merwe|year=2000|title=The hunters and the hunted revisited|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=39|issue=6|pages=565–576|doi=10.1006/jhev.2000.0436|pmid=11102267|bibcode=2000JHumE..39..565L }}</ref> and subsisted on mainly [[C4 carbon fixation|C4]] savanna plants and [[C3 carbon fixation|C3]] forest plants, which could indicate either seasonal shifts in diet or seasonal migration from forest to savanna. In leaner times it may have fallen back on brittle food. It likely also consumed seeds<ref name=Sponheimer2006>{{cite journal|first1=M.|last1=Sponheimer|first2=B. H.|last2=Passey|first3=D. J.|last3=de Ruiter|display-authors=et al.|year=2006|title=Isotopic Evidence for Dietary Variability in the Early Hominin ''Paranthropus robustus''|journal=Science|volume=314|issue=5801|pages=980–982|doi=10.1126/science.1133827|pmid=17095699|bibcode=2006Sci...314..980S|s2cid=22291574}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=P. J.|last1=Constantino|first2=O.|last2=Borrero-Lopez|first3=B. R.|last3=Lawn|year=2018|title=Mechanisms of Tooth Damage in ''Paranthropus'' Dietary Reconstruction|journal= Biosurface and Biotribology|volume=4|issue=3|pages=73–78|doi=10.1049/bsbt.2018.0017|doi-access=free}}</ref> and possibly [[tuber]]s or [[termite]]s.<ref name=Backwell2001/> A high cavity rate could indicate [[honey]] consumption.<ref name=Towle2019/>

The East African ''P. boisei'', on the other hand, seems to have been largely herbivorous and fed on C4 plants. Its powerful jaws allowed it to consume a wide variety of different plants,<ref name=Wood2012/><ref name=Cerling2011>{{cite journal|last1=Cerling|first1=T. E.|last2=Mbua|first2=E.|last3=Kirera|first3=F. M.|display-authors=et al.|title=Diet of ''Paranthropus boisei'' in the early Pleistocene of East Africa |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=108 |issue=23 |pages=9337–41 |year= 2011  |pmid=21536914 |pmc=3111323 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1104627108 |bibcode=2011PNAS..108.9337C|doi-access=free}}</ref> though it may have largely preferred nutrient-rich [[bulbotuber]]s as these are known to thrive in the well-watered woodlands it is thought to have inhabited. Feeding on these, ''P. boisei'' may have been able to meet its daily caloric requirements of approximately 9,700 kJ after about 6 hours of foraging.<ref name=Macho2014>{{cite journal|first=G. M.|last=Macho|year=2014|title=Baboon Feeding Ecology Informs the Dietary Niche of ''Paranthropus boisei''|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=9|issue=1|page=e84942|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0084942|pmc=3885648|pmid=24416315|bibcode=2014PLoSO...984942M|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Juvenile ''P. robustus'' may have relied more on tubers than adults, given the elevated levels of [[strontium]] compared to adults in teeth from Swartkrans Cave, which, in the area, was most likely sourced from tubers. [[Dentin]] exposure on juvenile teeth could indicate early weaning, or a more abrasive diet than adults which wore away the [[cementum]] and [[tooth enamel|enamel]] coatings, or both. It is also possible juveniles were less capable of removing grit from dug-up food rather than purposefully seeking out more abrasive foods.<ref name=Williams2015/>