RAZD writes:
Australopithicines were still able to climb according to some analists (for safety and sleeping possibly), but not as well as chimps. Even more in transition from arboreal to terrestrial habit is Ardipiticus ramidus (Ardi), who seemed about equally adapted to each habitat, but with clear adaptations for bipedal walking and wrists not made for knuckle walking.
I skimmed the thread and didn't see anything on this, so I apologize if I am retreading old info . . .
"Here we present evidence that fossils attributed to Australopithecus anamensis (KNM-ER 20419) and A. afarensis (AL 288-1) retain specialized wrist morphology associated with knuckle-walking. This distal radial morphology differs from that of later hominids and non-knuckle-walking anthropoid primates, suggesting that knuckle-walking is a derived feature of the African ape and human clade.."
Evidence that humans evolved from a knuckle-walking ancestor | Nature
It is interesting that some (all?) Australopithecines still had wrist adaptations for knuckle walking that are not seen in modern humans. This is yet another transitional feature that further evidences human evolution.
What we also need to be careful of is viewing any Australopithecine individual or species as being directly ancestral to humans. Transitional does not mean ancestral. It is still possible for side branches of the human lineage to evolve in different directions, even back towards arboreal adaptations.
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