Homo sapiens idaltu
Americannoun
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an extinct subspecies of Homo sapiens that lived in Africa during the Pleistocene Epoch and is believed to be the likely immediate ancestor of the modern human (Homo sapiens sapiens ): the first fossil specimen was discovered in Herto Bouri, Ethiopia, in 1997.
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a fossil belonging to this species.
Etymology
Origin of Homo sapiens idaltu
First recorded in 2000–05; from New Latin; Homo sapiens ( def. ) + Afar idaltu “first born, elder”
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.
Tim White, head of the Laboratory for Human Evolutionary Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, has discovered many of our ancestors, from the ancient Ardipithecus to the much more recent Homo sapiens idaltu.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 30, 2012
White and his colleagues think these hominids are distinctive enough to merit their own subspecies, which the team has dubbed Homo sapiens idaltu.
From Time Magazine Archive
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