i know that we are talking about 3.8 millions years ago, but its still history right? my question is: during the time where Lucy (the Australopithecus) was alive, how much australipithecus was there? i made all the research i could but i didnt find anything about this argument.
This is a really interesting question. You might have better luck on one of the science-based subs, maybe r/AskAnthropology. Since this predates written records we don't just have a headcount, so the numbers will have to be estimated, and that's going to require a different skillset than most historians are trained to employ. (Not estimation in general, but the factors involved in this estimation in particular.)