Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Australopithecus boisei

Australopithecus boisei

9.9
An early human relative with very large teeth that lived in eastern Africa one to two million years ago
  • noun
  • /ˌɔːstrəloʊˈpɪθɪkəs ˈbɔɪzi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : australopiteco boisei
  • The powerful jaws of Australopithecus boisei suggest a diet of tough vegetation.

Examples

  • Scientists debate how Australopithecus boisei fits into the evolutionary tree of early humans.

  • Fossil evidence of Australopithecus boisei has been discovered in Tanzania and Ethiopia.

  • The Australopithecus boisei was known for its large teeth.

  • Did you know that Australopithecus boisei lived in Africa?

  • Fossil evidence of Australopithecus boisei has been discovered in Tanzania and Ethiopia.

  • The powerful jaws of Australopithecus boisei suggest a diet of tough vegetation.

  • Scientists debate how Australopithecus boisei fits into the evolutionary tree of early humans.

Synonyms

Zinjanthropus
vsAustralopithecus boisei
  • Archaic
9.9

A former scientific name for an extinct early human fossil

refers to the species itself rather than the older genus name

Surface Forms

Australopithecus boisei singular
Australopithecus boiseis plural

Morphology

Australopithecus + boisei

The term follows the predictable Linnaean binomial pattern: genus (Australopithecus) + specific epithet (boisei), so a learner who knows 'Australopithecus' can infer this is a particular species of that extinct hominid. However, 'boisei' is an eponymic/opaque epithet and provides no lexical information about traits or chronology, so the full encyclopedic meaning (large teeth, date range, region) is not derivable.

Etymology

Australopithecus boisei gets its name from Australopithecus, a word that means 'southern ape', and from boisei, the last name of a man who helped the scientists who found it. Fossils show very large teeth and strong jaws, so remember it as the 'southern ape' with big teeth.