Mrs. Ples

American  

[mis-iz pleez] / ˈmɪs ɪz ˈpliz /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of Mrs. Ples

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)

Example Sentences

The study of fossils from the Sterkfontein Caves, which yielded the near-complete skull of a cave woman nicknamed Mrs. Ples, found they date back 3.4 million to 3.6 million years.

From Washington Post • Jun. 29, 2022

The Sterfonktein caves have yielded a 2.3 million–year-old Australopithecus africanus fossil discovered in 1947 known as Mrs. Ples and a nearly complete Australopithecus skeleton known as Little Foot, discovered in 1994.

From Slate • Sep. 10, 2015

Another A. africanus specimen, dubbed Mrs. Ples, has a substantial dent in her skull from repeated measurements with calipers.

From Scientific American • May 8, 2012