Definition of Paranthropus in English:
Paranthropus
noun pəˈranθrəpəspəˈranTHrəpəs
A genus name often applied to robust fossil hominids first found in South Africa in 1938.
Australopithecus robustus and A. or 'Zinjanthropus' boisei, family Hominidae. See Australopithecus
Example sentencesExamples
- Hominidae, the mammalian family that includes modern humans and their immediately extinct ancestors, contains four genera: Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo.
- A big-jawed and relatively small-brained hominid known as Paranthropus consumed mainly nuts and other hard foods, causing it to die out as these resources became scarce in African habitats.
- Falk's team looked not only at five Homo erectus skulls, but skulls of earlier hominids from Africa, such as Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus aethiopicus.
- Estimated at 1.5 to 2 million years old, the Drimolen fossils are mostly teeth that belonged to Paranthropus robustus australopithecines.
- The semicircular canal dimensions in crania from southern Africa attributed to Australopithecus and Paranthropus resemble those of the extant great apes.
Origin
Modern Latin, from Greek para- (expressing relationship) + anthrōpos 'man'.