Australopithecus afarensis is a species of early hominid, notably including the famous fossil AL 288-1, known as 'Lucy'. It lived in Africa about 3.9 to 2.9 million years ago and is a key topic in paleoanthropology for understanding bipedal locomotion and human evolution. The name combines a southern African genus with the Ethiopian/afar region descriptor, reflecting early human lineage discovery in Africa.
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