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Glite Dictionary
Zinjanthropus

Zinjanthropus

9.9
A former scientific name for an extinct early human fossil
  • noun
  • /zɪnˈdʒænθrəpəs/
  • Archaic
translation icon : Zinjanthropus
  • Zinjanthropus was fascinating.

Examples

  • The fossil known as Zinjanthropus was discovered by Mary Leakey at Olduvai Gorge in 1959.

  • The discovery of Zinjanthropus provided crucial insights into the diet of prehistoric hominids.

  • For decades, researchers debated whether Zinjanthropus deserved separate genus status from Australopithecus.

  • Textbooks now refer to Zinjanthropus as Australopithecus boisei following later revisions in classification.

  • The Zinjanthropus exhibit is amazing!

  • Zinjanthropus was once considered a significant step in the evolution of early humans.

  • Researchers have debated the classification of Zinjanthropus within the human evolutionary tree.

Synonyms

Australopithecus boisei
vsZinjanthropus
  • Specialized
9.9

An early human relative with very large teeth that lived in eastern Africa one to two million years ago

is the older genus name formerly used for that species

Surface Forms

Zinjanthropus singular
Zinjanthropi plural

Etymology

The word Zinjanthropus comes from Zanj, an old Arabic name meaning 'East African coast', and Greek anthropos meaning 'human'. So it literally meant 'a man from Zanj', and that is why scientists used the name for an early human fossil found in East Africa.