Kenyapithecus

American  

[ken-yuh-pith-i-kuhs, -puh-thee-kuhs, keen-] / ˌkɛn yəˈpɪθ ɪ kəs, -pəˈθi kəs, ˌkin- /

noun

1. a genus of fossil hominoids of middle Miocene age found in Kenya and having large molars, small incisors, and powerful chewing muscles.

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Etymology

Origin of Kenyapithecus

1960–65; < New Latin, equivalent to Kenya Kenya + pithēcus ape < Greek píthēkos

Example Sentences

Applying 14 standard tests of the shape and size of jawbones and teeth to these long-ignored bone fragments, Leakey concluded that their characteristics were definitely more manlike than apelike, and reclassified them as Kenyapithecus africanus.

From Time Magazine Archive

Leakey actually fabricated Kenyapithecus africanus from bone fragments that he and other scientists had dug from the ground as long ago as 1947.

From Time Magazine Archive

One of man's earliest ancestors, says Anthropologist Louis Leakey, was a puny creature named Kenyapithecus africanus that inhabited the earth 20 million years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive

Now famed Kenya-born Anthropologist Louis Leakey has evidence that a manlike creature he has named Kenyapithecus africanus roamed over eastern Africa concurrently with apes 20 million years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive