Dryopithecus
Americannoun
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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.
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one of the four subgenera of this genus, limited to Europe.
Etymology
Origin of Dryopithecus
< New Latin (1856) < Greek drŷ ( s ) tree, oak + -o- -o- + píthēkos monkey
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is from a generalized type of Dryopithecus that most anthropologists believe man evolved.
From Time Magazine Archive
Much later—by 14 million years ago—the Dryopithecus line had split into three branches.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dryopithecus, a big forest ape that lived in the Siwalik hills of India in Miocene times, before the Glacial Age, is the common ancestor of man, the gorilla, the chimpanzee, and other primates.
From Time Magazine Archive
One molar which he was able to examine closely showed close affinities to Dryopithecus, a well-known genus of extinct apes.
From Time Magazine Archive
Among these residents of early Europe was at least one representative of the anthropoid apes, the fossil species known as Dryopithecus, from the middle Miocene deposits of St. Gaudens, France.
From Man And His Ancestor A Study In Evolution by Charles Morris
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