Mrs. Ples

[ mis-iz pleez ]

noun

1. a skull of Australopithecus africanus discovered in the Transvaal of South Africa in 1947: now believed to be a male cranium, it is remarkable for its completeness and is considered one of the most perfect skulls of an extinct hominin ever found.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mrs. Ples¹

Nickname coined by Robert Bloom, South African physician and paleontologist born in Scotland (1866–1951), and John Robinson, South African paleontologist (1923–2001), in 1947 , after their initial hypothesis that she was a middle-aged female Plesianthropus transvaalensis (the original name of this species)