Australopithecus africanus

American  

[aw-strey-loh-pith-i-kuhs af-ri-kah-nuhs, -kan-uhs, -puh-thee-kuhs, aw-struh-loh-] / ɔˌstreɪ loʊˈpɪθ ɪ kəs ˌæf rɪˈkɑ nəs, -ˈkæn əs, -pəˈθi kəs, ˌɔ strə loʊ- /

noun

1. an extinct species of gracile hominin, formerly known as Plesianthropus transvaalensis, that lived in southern Africa about 2–3.3 million years ago.

2. a fossil belonging to this species.

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Etymology

Origin of Australopithecus africanus

First recorded in 1920–25; from New Latin Australopithecus ( def. ) + Latin āfricānus “African.” See African

Example Sentences

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 • Oct. 16, 2025

In the 1950s, Australian-born South African paleoanthropologist Raymond Dart, who famously discovered our ancestor Australopithecus africanus, suggested that our ancestors were using bones as weapons to not only kill animals but also their own kind.

From Salon • Sep. 16, 2023

Previously the Australopithecus africanus hominids were considered by scientists to be too young to have evolved into homo genus, our ancestors, who were already roaming earth around 2.2 million years ago.

From BBC • Jun. 28, 2022

Based on earlier data, many paleoanthropologists thought Little Foot was a member of Australopithecus africanus, a well-established lineage of upright walkers that lived between 3.3 million and 2.1 million years ago.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 11, 2018

Those protohumans are generally known as Australopithecus africanus, Homo habilis, and Homo erectus, which apparently evolved into each other in that sequence.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond