Ramapithecus

[ rah-muh-pith-i-kuhs, -puh-thee-kuhs ]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ramapithecus¹

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

Example Sentences

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

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

From The Guardian

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

Wood and Harrison draw parallels to the decades-old case of the short-faced, small-canined Ramapithecus punjabicus, which was initially thought to be a hominin but later shown to be a female Sivapithecus, a relative of orangutans.

From Scientific American

Doctors take a new look at mankind's oldest, most stubborn agony On a sunny day in Africa 10 million years ago, give or take a few million, Mr. and Mrs. Ramapithecus and their children were out foraging for food.

From Time Magazine Archive