Ramapithecus

[rah-muh-pith-i-kuhs, -puh-thee-kuhs]

noun

1. a genus of extinct Miocene ape known from fossils found in India and Pakistan and formerly thought to be a possible human ancestor.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ramapithecus¹

< New Latin (1934), equivalent to Sanskrit Rāma Rama + Greek píthēkos ape

Example Sentences

In the 1960s, fossil evidence led palaeontologists to conclude that a 14m-year-old ape, Ramapithecus, was the earliest ancestor on the human line, based on the shape of its jaw.

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Subsequent DNA analysis has revealed the split occurred long after that – Ramapithecus is now considered an orangutan ancestor.

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In one case from more than 30 years ago, scientists thought that 12-million-year-old Asian fossils from a creature called Ramapithecus belonged to a hominid until further finds pegged it as an orangutan ancestor.

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Wood and Harrison draw parallels to the decades-old case of the short-faced, small-canined Ramapithecus punjabicus, which was initially thought to be a hominin but later shown to be a female Sivapithecus, a relative of orangutans.

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Doctors take a new look at mankind's oldest, most stubborn agony On a sunny day in Africa 10 million years ago, give or take a few million, Mr. and Mrs. Ramapithecus and their children were out foraging for food.

Read more on Time Magazine Archive