Dryopithecus

[drahy-oh-pith-i-kuh s, -puh-thee-]

noun

an extinct genus of generalized hominoids that lived in Europe and Africa during the Miocene Epoch and whose members are characterized by small molars and incisors.
one of the four subgenera of this genus, limited to Europe.

Compare dryomorph, Proconsul.

Origin of Dryopithecus

< New Latin (1856) < Greek drŷ(s) tree, oak + -o- -o- + píthēkos monkey

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dryopithecus

Historical Examples of dryopithecus

Dryopithecus was smaller than the chimpanzee, but much larger than the gibbon.
The Origin of Man and of his Superstitions
Carveth Read
Dryopithecus is more Man-like than any other, and seems to have been as large as a Chimpanzee.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia
Frank Evers Beddard
Palæopithecus, Dryopithecus, Palæosimia, and Sivapithecus are extinct simians.
Man, Past and Present
Agustus Henry Keane