Ardipithecus

American  

[ahr-di-pith-i-kuhs, ‐pi-thee-kuhs] / ˌɑr dɪˈpɪθ ɪ kəs, ‐pɪˈθi kəs /

noun

1. a genus of extinct hominine of the late Miocene and early Pliocene epochs, known from remains found in northeastern Ethiopia in the 1990s: its two named species are A. ramidus and A. kadabba .

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Etymology

Origin of Ardipithecus

First recorded in 1990–95; from New Latin, from Afar ard, ardi “earth” (from Arabic ʔarḍ ) + Latin pithēcus “ape” (from Greek píthēkos )

Example Sentences

“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 • Jul. 1, 2023

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 • Nov. 5, 2022

Lovejoy thinks these neurochemical changes were already in place more than 4.4 million year ago when Ardipithecus ramidus, an early member of the human family, lived in Ethiopia.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 22, 2018

He found stark differences between Ardipithecus ramidus, a 4.4-million-year-old hominin also found in Ethiopia, and a physical cast that he studied, including several deformities not captured in the cast.

From Nature • Aug. 28, 2016

In the intervening years, several more specimens of Ardipithecus, classified as two different species, demonstrated that the organism was bipedal.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015