The rich diversity and widespread distribution of antelopes (Bovidae) in sub-Saharan Africa makes them a model group for exploring relationships between evolution and biogeographyBiogeography. Here, we review sister speciesSister species distributions and molecular records, and present a new analysis of the eastern and southern African bovid fossil records as a comparison to Paranthropus. The majority of extant bovid sister speciesSister species and subspecies show east-south or north-south structuring, indicative of later Pleistocene provincialismProvincialism. Our analysis of the bovid fossil record suggests that provincialism was highest in the late Pliocene but has been steadily decreasing since at least ~ 2 Ma. While several clades were shared between the regions, shared species were rare, mirroring the pattern for Paranthropus boisei and Paranthropus robustus. The divergence of P. boisei and P. robustus and their subsequent geographic distributions was thus likely part of a larger pattern of African large mammal biogeographic evolution during the Plio-Pleistocene.