In 1936 Broom attributed fossils from Sterkfontein to Australopithecus transvaalensis Broom, 1936. In 1938 he erected a new genus for this species, Plesianthropus transvaalensis Broom 1938. Specifically, on p. 377 Broom writes, "The shape of the symphysis is so different from that of the Taungs ape that it seems advisable to place A. transvaalensis in a distinct genus, for which the name Plesianthropus is proposed."
