Pithecanthropus

American  

[pith-i-kan-thruh-puhs, -kuhn-throh-puhs] / ˌpɪθ ɪˈkæn θrə pəs, -kənˈθroʊ pəs /

noun

1. a former genus of extinct hominins whose members have now been assigned to the proposed species Homo erectus.

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pithecanthropus British  

/ ˌpɪθɪkænˈθrəʊpəs, -ˈkænθrə- /

noun

1. any primitive apelike man of the former genus Pithecanthropus, now included in the genus Homo See Java man Peking man

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pithecanthropus Scientific  

/ pĭth′ĭ-kăn′thrə-pəs,-kăn-thrō′pəs /

1. An extinct hominid postulated from bones found in Java in 1891 and originally designated Pithecanthropus erectus because it was thought to represent a species evolutionarily between apes and humans. Pithecanthropus is now classified as Homo erectus.

2. Also called Java man

3. See more at Homo erectus

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Other Word Forms

• pithecanthropine adjective

Etymology

Origin of Pithecanthropus

First recorded in 1870–75; from New Latin: literally “ape-man”; from Greek píthēk(os) “ape” + Greek ánthrōpos “human being”

Example Sentences

But after further inspection, he changed the name to Pithecanthropus erectus, an upright “ape-man.”

From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2019

Professor Eugene Dubois, 82, Dutch anthropologist who in 1891 found the first skull of the Java ape man, concluded he had discovered the "missing link," called it Pithecanthropus erectus; in Haelen, Belgium.

From Time Magazine Archive

The scientist quickly realized that he had in his hands one of the most important evolutionary finds since the discovery of Pithecanthropus erectus, the ape-man of Java.

From Time Magazine Archive

Britain's Sir Arthur Keith, however, world's greatest authority on fossil man, considers Pithecanthropus the earliest known form of man.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lastly, Dubois has discovered in Java the cranium of Pithecanthropus erectus which is intermediate between that of the orang-utan and man.

From The Sexual Question A Scientific, psychological, hygienic and sociological study by Forel, Auguste