Ardipithecus ramidus

American  

[ahr-duh-pith-i-kuhs ram-i-duhs, ahr-duh-puh-thee-kuhs] / ˌɑr dəˈpɪθ ɪ kəs ˈræm ɪ dəs, ˌɑr də pəˈθi kəs /

noun

1. an extinct species of early hominin whose fossil remains were discovered in Ethiopia in the 1990s and have been dated at about 4.4 million years of age: evidence suggests a probable combination of bipedal and tree-climbing behavior, and some believe the species shares a human and African ape lineage, with no direct skeletal relationship to the chimpanzee.

2. a fossil belonging to this species, most notably the female specimen named Ardi.

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Etymology

Origin of Ardipithecus ramidus

Ardipithecus ( def. ) + New Latin ramidus, equivalent to Afar ramid “root” (from the closeness of this species to the roots of humanity) + -us adjective suffix; coined by U.S. paleoanthropologist Tim White (born 1950) and his colleagues in 1994. At the time of this discovery, the genus Australopithecus was well established, and White coined the genus name Ardipithecus to distinguish the new genus from Australopithecus

Example Sentences

“Clickbait,” said Tim D. White, a paleoanthropologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who is best known for leading the team that discovered Ardipithecus ramidus, a 4.4 million-year-old likely human forebear.

From New York Times • Jul. 1, 2023

This foot evolved into a transitional foot capable of both grasping and walking, as seen in the fossil known as Ardi, a member of Ardipithecus ramidus that lived in Aramis, Ethiopia, 4.4 million years ago.

From Scientific American • Nov. 5, 2022

He found stark differences between Ardipithecus ramidus, a 4.4-million-year-old hominin also found in Ethiopia, and a physical cast that he studied, including several deformities not captured in the cast.

From Nature • Aug. 28, 2016

In Ethiopia in 1992, White discovered what was then the oldest known hominin fossil: Ardipithecus ramidus.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 20, 2016

Among hominins tested, its diet most closely resembled that of Ardipithecus ramidus, a more primitive hominin that lived 4.4 million years ago in Ethiopia.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 27, 2012