Paranthropus robustus

[puh-ran-thruh-puhs roh-buhs-tuhs, par-uhn-throh-puhs]

noun

1. an extinct species of large-toothed bipedal hominin, formerly named Australopithecus robustus, that lived in southern Africa about 1.5–2 million years ago.

2. a fossil belonging to this species.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Paranthropus robustus¹

First recorded in 1935–40; from New Latin; Paranthropus ( def. ) + Latin rōbustus “oaken, hard, firm, strong”; robust

Example Sentences

That view shifted when researchers analysed 51 fossil teeth from a range of hominids and great apes, including Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus, early Homo, Neanderthals, and Homo sapiens.

Read more on Science Daily

For nearly 100 years, scientists have been intrigued by the fossils of Paranthropus robustus, a sturdy, distant cousin of early humans.

Read more on Science Daily

For now, the Paranthropus robustus mystery has grown deeper, more intricate, and infinitely more fascinating.

Read more on Science Daily

These fossils came from two other hominin species: the large-toothed Paranthropus robustus and the much more humanlike H. erectus.

Read more on Scientific American

In 2018 a student excavator, Samantha Good, came upon the adult male skull of a Paranthropus robustus, lying upside down, with the upper teeth showing.

Read more on Scientific American