Australopithecus


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Related to Australopithecus: Australopithecus africanus

Aus·tra·lo·pith·e·cus

 (ôs′trə-lō-pĭth′ĭ-kəs, ô-strā′lō-)
n.
A genus of extinct hominins known from Pliocene and early Pleistocene fossil remains found in Africa, characterized by relatively small brain size and evidence of bipedalism. Several species are known, including A. afarensis, dating from four to three million years ago, of which Lucy is the best-known specimen.
[New Latin Austrālopithēcus, genus name : Latin austrālis, southern (because fossil remains of the genus were first found in South Africa); see austral + Greek pithēkos, ape (of unknown origin).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Aus•tra•lo•pith•e•cus

(ɔˌstreɪ loʊˈpɪθ ɪ kəs, -pəˈθi kəs, ˌɔ strə-)

n.
a genus of small-brained, large-toothed bipedal hominids that lived in Africa between one and four million years ago.
[< New Latin (1905) =austral(is) austral1 + -o- -o- + pithēcus < Greek píthēkos ape]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.Australopithecus - extinct genus of African hominidAustralopithecus - extinct genus of African hominid  
genus Australopithecus
mammal genus - a genus of mammals
family Hominidae, Hominidae - modern man and extinct immediate ancestors of man
australopithecine - any of several extinct humanlike bipedal primates with relatively small brains of the genus Australopithecus; from 1 to 4 million years ago
Australopithecus afarensis - fossils found in Ethiopia; from 3.5 to 4 million years ago
Lucy - incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern Ethiopia in 1974
Australopithecus africanus - gracile hominid of southern Africa; from about 3 million years ago
Australopithecus boisei - large-toothed hominid of eastern Africa; from 1 to 2 million years ago
Australopithecus robustus - large-toothed hominid of southern Africa; from 1.5 to 2 million years ago; formerly Paranthropus
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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References in periodicals archive ?
In contrast, infants of Paranthropus robustus, that became extinct around one million years ago and were a more robust species in terms of dental anatomy, as well as infants of Australopithecus africanus, stopped drinking sizeable proportions of mother milk in the course of the first months of life.
University of Bristol: First human ancestors breastfed for longer than contemporary relatives
Prof Haile-Selassie says the specimen is the best example yet of the ape-like human ancestor called Australopithecus anamensis - the oldest known australopithecine whose kind may have existed as far back as 4.2 million years ago.
Skull of ancient human ancestor unearthed
The skull, probably a male's, is from a species called Australopithecus anamensis, as Haile-Selassie and his colleagues report in a pair of papers published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
3.8-million-year-old skull 'iconic' specimen
It sheds new light on what Australopithecus anamensis, a species widely accepted to have been the ancestor of Australopithecus afarensis, represented by the famous Lucy fossil - looked like.
3,800,000-year-old skull a 'game-changer' in evolution
The earliest members of the hominin genus Australopithecus have remained poorly understood, because of the near absence of cranial remains older than 3.5 million years.
Researchers find fossilised skull of early human
And Lucy, the famous Australopithecus afarensis, was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974 and is 3.2 million years old.
Skull find in Ethiopia yields new clues on how humans evolved
Johanson in Hadar, Ethiopia,A the 3.2 million-year-old ape was the first Australopithecus afarensis skeleton ever found.
Lucy's Ancestors Revealed By 3.8 Million Year Old Skull
Summary: TEHRAN (FNA)- Researchers have discovered a remarkably complete 3.8-million-year-old cranium of Australopithecus anamensis at Woranso-Mille in Ethiopia.
A Face for Lucy's Ancestor
Breastfeeding Analysis of more than two-million-year-old teeth from Australopithecus africanus fossils found in South Africa have revealed that infants were breastfed continuously from birth to about one year of age.
Breastfeeding practice by earliest ancestors explained
The similarities to Australopithecus are especially intriguing when one ponders for a moment on just who the australopiths actually were.
To doubters: The evidence needed to declare a new human species from a Philippines site
AUSTRALOPITHECUS AFARENSISLast year, an early human species classified as Australopithecus Afarensis and dating close to 3.5 million years was discovered near Ngong Hills on the outskirts of Nairobi, the first such site in the highlands.
New cradle of mankind found in Nyeri, complete with stone tools
The main robust species, Australopithecus aethiopicus, A.
ANTHROPOLOGY PAPER ABSTRACTS

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