australopithecus
|aus-tra-lo-pi-the-cus|
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/ˌɑːstrəloʊˈpɪθəkəs/
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/ˌɔːstrələˈpɪθəkəs/
southern ape (early hominin)
Etymology
'australopithecus' originates from New Latin, formed from Greek elements: 'australos' meaning 'southern' and 'pithekos' meaning 'ape'.
'australopithecus' was coined in scientific usage in 1924 by Raymond Dart when he named 'Australopithecus africanus'; the formation combines Greek roots to create a New Latin genus name used in paleontology and anthropology.
Initially, it literally meant 'southern ape', but over time it has come to denote a genus (and informally a group) of early hominins important in the study of human evolution.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a genus of extinct hominins from Africa, often described as 'southern apes'; lived roughly 4 to 2 million years ago and show a mixture of ape-like and human-like traits (e.g., bipedalism with some arboreal adaptations).
Fossils attributed to Australopithecus provide key evidence about early human bipedalism.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/22 07:25