>>17773780>>17774448>>17774486If I remember correctly: Paranthropus was the "gorillas attempt at a hominid".
They were around during Homo Erectus' time and for whatever reason they didn't make it through to the end. They were physically quite robust, nearly twice as large as other hominids in Africa, used simple bone and stone tools, could cook, so it wasn't a lack of technology or physical frailness. Wikipedia says they may have kept the gorillas social tendency towards harems and that may have prevented them from effectively defending themselves from ape-men with larger more mix-gendered congregations. They were also herbivorous, as far as we can tell, which I'd consider a development handicap.