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Glite Dictionary
Plesianthropus

Plesianthropus

9.9
A former scientific name for early human fossils that scientists now treat as Australopithecus
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : Plesianthropus
  • The fossil once assigned to Plesianthropus was later classified as Australopithecus africanus.

Examples

  • Early researchers debated whether Plesianthropus justified a separate genus from other hominids.

  • The name Plesianthropus is now considered obsolete in paleoanthropology.

  • The Plesianthropus fossils were discovered in Africa.

  • Did you know that Plesianthropus is an outdated term?

  • The fossil once assigned to Plesianthropus was later classified as Australopithecus africanus.

  • Early researchers debated whether Plesianthropus justified a separate genus from other hominids.

  • The name Plesianthropus is now considered obsolete in paleoanthropology.

Synonyms

genus Plesianthropus
vsPlesianthropus
  • Archaic
9.9

An old scientific name for early humanlike fossils now called Australopithecus

is the same name shown as a simple term not the formal taxonomic phrase

Compounds

genus Plesianthropus
  • Archaic
9.9

An old scientific name for early humanlike fossils now called Australopithecus

Surface Forms

Plesianthropus singular
Plesianthropi plural

Etymology

Plesianthropus comes from Greek parts plesi- meaning 'near' and -anthropus meaning 'human', the same root you see in anthropology. A helpful way to remember it is that the name means 'near human' for a fossil thought to be close to people, but the name is now no longer used because the fossil is placed with Australopithecus.