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Paranthropus robustus

American  
[puh-ran-thruh-puhs roh-buhs-tuhs, par-uhn-throh-puhs] / pəˈræn θrə pəs roʊˈbʌs təs, ˌpær ənˈθroʊ pəs /

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.


Etymology

Origin of Paranthropus robustus

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

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.

See Examples For:

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.

From Science Daily Nov. 16, 2025

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

From Science Daily Nov. 1, 2025

Paranthropus includes Paranthropus robustus of South Africa, and Paranthropus aethiopicus and Paranthropus boisei of East Africa.

From Textbooks Jan. 1, 2015

One species, Paranthropus robustus, even ate a mostly C4 diet, as Thure Cerling of the University of Utah and his colleagues reported last June in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.

From Scientific American Mar. 20, 2012

Unlike Darwin, the hall reminds us, we know that there have been multiple human species, including Homo floresiensis, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo erectus, Paranthropus boisei, Paranthropus robustus, Australopithecus afarensis and Sahelanthropus tchadensis.

From New York Times Mar. 18, 2010

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