Homo soloensis
- noun
- Specialized
:
Homo soloensis
- The skulls attributed to Homo soloensis exhibit characteristics intermediate between earlier hominids and modern humans.
Examples
-
Scientists debate whether Homo soloensis should be classified as a separate species or a subspecies of Homo erectus.
-
Fossils of Homo soloensis were discovered near the Solo River in Java.
-
The Homo soloensis skeleton was found in Java.
-
Researchers believe Homo soloensis lived during the late Pleistocene.
-
Fossils of Homo soloensis were discovered near the Solo River in Java.
-
Scientists debate whether Homo soloensis should be classified as a separate species or a subspecies of Homo erectus.
-
The skulls attributed to Homo soloensis exhibit characteristics intermediate between earlier hominids and modern humans.
Synonyms
An old scientific name for an early human now called Solo man
An extinct early human known from fossils found in Java
Surface Forms
Morphology
Homo + soloensis
The element 'Homo' clearly marks a biological genus and signals a human/hominid species, so part of the meaning (that this is a species name) is recoverable. However 'soloensis' is not a common English word and depends on Latin taxonomic morphology (‑ensis = from Solo/Java), knowledge that an average B1 learner will not have; the specific referent and geographic/temporal details are therefore not fully predictable. Because the genus gives partial compositional information but the species epithet is opaque to ordinary learners, the expression is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Homo soloensis gets its name from where the bones were found. The part Homo means 'man' and soloensis means 'from Solo', the Solo River area in Java. So the name helps you remember it is an extinct, ancient kind of human discovered near that river.
