Broom (1936) established the name Au. transvaalensis based on TM 1511 discovered at Sterkfontein. Later (Broom, 1938) he moved the species to a new genus, Plesianthropus transvaalensis. In 1947 the nearly complete creanium STS 5 was discovered and referred to Plesianthropus transvaalensis from which it gets the knickname "Mrs Ples".
