Australopithecus sediba

[ aw-strey-loh-pith-i-kuhs suh-dee-buh, -puh-thee-kuhs, aw-struh-loh- ]

noun

1. an extinct species of early hominin whose fossil remains were discovered in South Africa in 2008, dated at about 1.98 million years of age: remarkably complete skeletons reveal evidence suggesting a possible close ancestral link to the genus Homo .
2. a fossil belonging to this species.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Australopithecus sediba¹

Australopithecus ( def ) + Sotho sediba “natural well, spring”; coined by American-born South African paleoanthropologist Lee Berger (born 1965)