Paranthropus

[puh-ran-thruh-puhs, par-uhn-throh-puhs]

noun

1. an extinct genus of bipedal hominins with massive chewing muscles, large teeth, and thick dental enamel: it may have descended from Australopithecus in Africa about 2.7 million years ago.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Paranthropus¹

First recorded in 1935–40; from New Latin: literally “beside man, near man”; equivalent to Greek para- “beside, near” + Greek ánthrōpos “human being”; para-

Example Sentences

Hominins belonging to the species Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei, the two most common living human species of the Pleistocene Epoch, made the tracks, the researchers said.

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“If Homo erectus ate considerably more animal foods than Paranthropus boisei, that alone would guarantee rather different niches,” Sponheimer told Salon in a phone interview.

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Hours before or after they passed, another member of the human family, likely the smaller brained, big-jawed Paranthropus, hurried along the same shoreline.

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The artifacts may not have human origins, though—they were excavated alongside teeth from an extinct hominin branch, Paranthropus.

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Two big fossil teeth found at the site belong to an extinct human cousin, known as Paranthropus.

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