Ardipithecus

[ ahr-di-pith-i-kuhs, ‐pi-thee-kuhs ]

noun

1. a genus of extinct hominine of the late Miocene and early Pliocene epochs, known from remains found in northeastern Ethiopia in the 1990s: its two named species are A. ramidus and A. kadabba .

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ardipithecus¹

First recorded in 1990–95; from New Latin, from Afar ard, ardi “earth” (from Arabic ʔarḍ ) + Latin pithēcus “ape” (from Greek píthēkos )

Example Sentences

Second, the characteristics of Sahelanthropus, Orrorin, and Ardipithecus suggest the ancestor we share with chimpanzees was neither chimpanzee-like nor the exclusive biped we have become.

From Singularity Hub 

Ardipithecus, the earliest well-known hominin, had a brain that was slightly smaller than a chimp’s, and there’s no evidence they used tools.

From Singularity Hub