Dryopithecus
Americannoun
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an extinct genus of generalized hominoids that lived in Europe and Africa during the Miocene Epoch and whose members are characterized by small molars and incisors.
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one of the four subgenera of this genus, limited to Europe.
Etymology
Origin of Dryopithecus
< New Latin (1856) < Greek drŷ ( s ) tree, oak + -o- -o- + píthēkos monkey
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One molar which he was able to examine closely showed close affinities to Dryopithecus, a well-known genus of extinct apes.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Much later—by 14 million years ago—the Dryopithecus line had split into three branches.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Simons is heading for Egypt in search of fossils that could enable him to trace man's roots back beyond Dryopithecus.
From Time Magazine Archive
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The general pattern seemed closely related to the dentition of Dryopithecus, a celebrated extinct ape.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Lartet, E., comparison of cranial capacities of skulls of recent and tertiary mammals; on the size of the brain in mammals; on Dryopithecus; on pre-historic flutes.
From The Descent of Man by Darwin, Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.