australopithecine
noun
aus·tra·lo·pith·e·cine ȯ-ˌstrā-lō-ˈpi-thə-ˌsīn 
ä-;
ˌȯ-strə-,
ˌä-
: any of various extinct hominids (genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus) that existed two to four million years ago in southern and eastern Africa and include gracile and robust forms exhibiting bipedal locomotion, near-human dentition, and relatively small brains
australopithecine adjective
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The Taung Child, our first encounter with an ancient group of proto-humans or hominins called australopithecines, was a turning point in the study of human evolution. 
Elizabeth Sawchuk, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2019 Over the past few decades, researchers have discovered dozens of fragments of australopithecine fossils in Ethiopia and Kenya that date back more than 4 million years. Colin Barras, Scientific American, 29 Aug. 2019 The new specimen—described today in the journal Nature—is the oldest skull ever found of an australopithecine, a pivotal group of early human ancestors that lived between 1.5 and four million years ago. Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 28 Aug. 2019 Our distant ancestors, such as the famous fossil Lucy and other australopithecines, matured quickly and died young like chimps. Ann Gibbons, Science | AAAS, 21 Sep. 2017 To a 3-foot-tall hobbit — about the same size as their distant australopithecine forebears — the 6-foot stork would have been huge, but in truth this bird was not much larger than its close relatives. Brian Switek, WIRED, 4 Jan. 2011
Elizabeth Sawchuk, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2019 Over the past few decades, researchers have discovered dozens of fragments of australopithecine fossils in Ethiopia and Kenya that date back more than 4 million years. Colin Barras, Scientific American, 29 Aug. 2019 The new specimen—described today in the journal Nature—is the oldest skull ever found of an australopithecine, a pivotal group of early human ancestors that lived between 1.5 and four million years ago. Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 28 Aug. 2019 Our distant ancestors, such as the famous fossil Lucy and other australopithecines, matured quickly and died young like chimps. Ann Gibbons, Science | AAAS, 21 Sep. 2017 To a 3-foot-tall hobbit — about the same size as their distant australopithecine forebears — the 6-foot stork would have been huge, but in truth this bird was not much larger than its close relatives. Brian Switek, WIRED, 4 Jan. 2011 Word History
Etymology
ultimately from Latin australis + Greek pithēkos ape
First Known Use
1943, in the meaning defined above