Australopithecus

American  

[aw-strey-loh-pith-i-kuhs, -puh-thee-kuhs, aw-struh-loh-] / ɔˌstreɪ loʊˈpɪθ ɪ kəs, -pəˈθi kəs, ˌɔ strə loʊ- /

noun

1. an extinct genus of small-brained, large-toothed bipedal hominins that lived in Africa between one and four million years ago: the genus Homo, to which modern humans belong, is believed to have evolved from this genus or to have shared a common ancestor.

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Australopithecus Cultural  

1. An extinct genus of the hominid family that lived in Africa from about three to one million years ago. The name means “southern ape.”

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Members of this genus were the ancestors of modern humans. One of the best-known fossils, Lucy, was a member of this genus.

Etymology

Origin of Australopithecus

First recorded in 1920–25; from New Latin: literally “southern ape,” equivalent to austrāl(is) “southern” + -o- connecting vowel + pithēcus “ape,” from Greek píthēkos. See austral ¹, -o-,

Example Sentences

Other researchers argued it belonged to Australopithecus africanus, a species first described in 1925 by Australian anatomist Raymond Dart and already known from the same region.

From Science Daily

Although Sahelanthropus had shorter legs than modern humans, its limb proportions differed from those of apes and more closely resembled Australopithecus.

From Science Daily

The paper, "New finds shed light on diet and locomotion in Australopithecus deyiremeda," appears in the journal Nature.

From Science Daily

That view shifted when researchers analysed 51 fossil teeth from a range of hominids and great apes, including Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus, early Homo, Neanderthals, and Homo sapiens.

From Science Daily

The samples included both modern and archaic humans such as Neanderthals, early human ancestors like Australopithecus africanus, and extinct great apes including Gigantopithecus blacki.

From Science Daily