Ardipithecus ramidus

[ ahr-duh-pith-i-kuhs ram-i-duhs, ahr-duh-puh-thee-kuhs ]

noun

1. an extinct species of early hominin whose fossil remains were discovered in Ethiopia in the 1990s and have been dated at about 4.4 million years of age: evidence suggests a probable combination of bipedal and tree-climbing behavior, and some believe the species shares a human and African ape lineage, with no direct skeletal relationship to the chimpanzee.
2. a fossil belonging to this species, most notably the female specimen named Ardi.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ardipithecus ramidus¹

Ardipithecus ( def ) + New Latin ramidus, equivalent to Afar ramid “root” (from the closeness of this species to the roots of humanity) + -us adjective suffix; coined by U.S. paleoanthropologist Tim White (born 1950) and his colleagues in 1994. At the time of this discovery, the genus Australopithecus was well established, and White coined the genus name Ardipithecus to distinguish the new genus from Australopithecus

Example Sentences

They found a remarkably complete but crushed partial skeleton they named Ardipithecus ramidus, dated to 4.4 million years ago.

From Science Magazine

“Clickbait,” said Tim D. White, a paleoanthropologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who is best known for leading the team that discovered Ardipithecus ramidus, a 4.4 million-year-old likely human forebear.

From New York Times

This foot evolved into a transitional foot capable of both grasping and walking, as seen in the fossil known as Ardi, a member of Ardipithecus ramidus that lived in Aramis, Ethiopia, 4.4 million years ago.

From Scientific American

Terence Capellini, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University, says those pelvic patterns were already emerging in early human ancestors such as the 4.4-million-year-old hominin Ardipithecus ramidus, which had slightly turned-out ilia and is thought to have at least occasionally walked on two feet.

From Science Magazine

Some of the most compelling evidence for upright walking in human ancestors comes from Ardipithecus ramidus, a female skeleton dating back 4.4m years and found in Ethiopia.

From The Guardian