Any of the seven species that belong to the family Hominidae (comprising humans and their closest relatives). These species are not attributable to the genus Homo, but belong to at least three genera that existed between about 4.4 million years ago (Ma) and 1.2 Ma during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene epochs. All seven species are known only from Africa. Although some workers regard all of them as belonging to one genus, Australopithecus, it is clear that a second genus, Ardipithecus, should be recognized for the earliest known hominid fossils, and that the three “robust” species belong to a third genus, Paranthropus.