Zinjanthropus

[ zin-jan-thruh-puhs, zin-jan-throh- ]

noun
  1. a genus to which Paranthropus boisei was formerly assigned.

Origin of Zinjanthropus

1
First recorded in 1955–60; from New Latin, from Arabic zinj, an area in East Africa + Greek ánthrōpos “human being, man”

Words Nearby Zinjanthropus

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British Dictionary definitions for zinjanthropus

zinjanthropus

/ (zɪnˈdʒænθrəpəs) /


noun
  1. a type of australopithecine, Australopithecus boisei (formerly Zinjanthropus boisei), remains of which were discovered in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania in 1959

Origin of zinjanthropus

1
C20: New Latin, from Arabic Zinj East Africa + Greek anthrōpos man

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for zinjanthropus

zinjanthropus

[ zĭn-jănthrə-pəs, zĭn′jăn-thrō- ]


  1. An extinct hominid postulated from bones found in Tanzania in 1959 and originally designated Zinjanthropus boisei by Louis S.B. Leakey. It was later shown to be an australopithecine and renamed Australopithecus boisei.

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