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Extinct genus of African hominid
Answer for the clue "Extinct genus of African hominid ", 16 letters:
australopithecus
Word definitions for australopithecus in dictionaries
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
australopithecine \australopithecine\ adj. 1. of or pertaining to the genus Australopithecus .
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1925, coined by Australian anthropologist Raymond A. Dart (1893-1988) from Latin australis "southern" (see Australia ) + Greek pithekos "ape." So called because first discovered in South Africa.
Wikipedia
Word definitions in Wikipedia
' Australopithecus ' (, ; etymology Latin australis "southern", Greek πίθηκος pithekos "ape"; informal australopithecine or australopith ) is an extinct genus of hominins . From paleontological and archaeological evidence, the Australopithecus genus apparently ...
Usage examples of australopithecus.
One branch of Australopithecus is thought to have given rise to Homo habilis around 2 million years ago, at the beginning of the Pleistocene period.
Homo habilis appears similar to Australopithecus except that his cranial capacity is said to have been larger, between 600 and 750 cc.
Most paleoanthropologists now believe that from the neck down, Homo erectus was, like Australopithecus and Homo habilis, almost the same as modern humans.
Exactly where, when, or how Australopithecus gave rise to Homo habilis, or Homo habilis gave rise to Homo erectus, or Homo erectus gave rise to modern humans is not explained in present accounts of human origins.
Only in Africa should one find primitive human ancestors, and these were limited to Australopithecus and Homo habilis, the latter considered the first toolmaker.
According to standard views on human evolution, only Australopithecus and Homo habilis should have been around at that time.
For example, most of the African discoveries of Australopithecus, Homo habilis, and Homo erectus have occurred not in clearly identifiable geological contexts, but on the surface or in cave deposits, which are notoriously difficult to interpret geologically.
Australopithecus or Homo habilis, something forbidden by current theory.
Today Australopithecus prometheus is classified, along with the Taung and Sterkfontein specimens, as Australopithecus africanus, distinct from the robust australopithecines of Kromdraai and Swartkrans.
Australopithecus africanus, distinct from the robust australopithecines of Kromdraai and Swartkrans.
Jacob suggested that Meganthropus fossils might be classified as Australopithecus.
The voices of authority in paleoanthropology and the scientific community in general have managed to keep the humanlike view of Australopithecus intact.
Miss Concher said gently, "that it was not mere coincidence or fleeting convenience that started Australopithecus along the demanding highway of verbal communication.
And he, like Australopithecus, was active during an epoch of unprecedentedly bad weather - droughts, floods, ice ages - called the Pleistocene, which began about two million years ago.
She tried to envision a credible object, but without Miss Concher's guidance it manifested as a parody: an ancient octopus struggling rheumatically out of the depths, donning sunglasses and marching up the Rift to the sound of fife and drum to instruct Australopithecus.