Ramapithecus

American  

[rah-muh-pith-i-kuhs, -puh-thee-kuhs] / ˌrɑ məˈpɪθ ɪ kəs, -pəˈθi kəs /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of Ramapithecus

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

Example Sentences

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

From The Guardian • Feb. 12, 2018

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.

From The Guardian • Feb. 12, 2018

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.

From US News • Feb. 17, 2011

The authors admit that we know little about Ramapithecus, a small apelike fellow who existed some 12 million years ago; all we have are a few teeth and bones.

From Time Magazine Archive

Every word of it could be applied to Ramapithecus and the Yale investigators who have reconstructed him from "no more than partial jawbones and a few teeth."

From Time Magazine Archive