Meganthropus

[ muh-gan-thruh-puhs, meg-an-throh-puhs ]

noun

1. a proposed genus of extinct, late lower Pleistocene primates based on two large lower jaws found in Java, and believed to be either Australopithecine or human.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Meganthropus¹

< New Latin (1942) < Greek még ( as ) large ( mega- ) + ánthrōpos man

Example Sentences

Meganthropus seemed to have been about the size of a big male gorilla.

From Time Magazine Archive

Koenigswald's crowning find dwarfed even Meganthropus.

From Time Magazine Archive