Paranthropus

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Par·an·throp·us

(păr-ən-thrŏp′əs)

A genus of extinct hominins known from fossil remains found in eastern and southern Africa dating from 2.8 to 1.4 million years ago, characterized by very large molars and a large sagittal crest in the male. Several species in this genus were first classified in the genus Australopithecus.

[New Latin Paranthrōpus, genus name : Greek para-, para- + Greek anthrōpos, human being.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

paranthropus

(pəˈrænθrəpəs)

(Palaeontology) palaeontol any of a genus of extinct bipedal hominins, thought to have descended from Australopithecus

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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Noun

Paranthropus - former classification for Australopithecus robustus

genus Paranthropus

australopithecine - any of several extinct humanlike bipedal primates with relatively small brains of the genus Australopithecus; from 1 to 4 million years ago

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References in periodicals archive ?

afarensis, in a roughly 2-million-year-old robust australopithecine species known as Australopithecus robustus, and in modern gorillas, the researchers report in an upcoming Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Disinherited ancestor: Lucy's kind may occupy evolutionary side branch

another investigator took the first extensive measurements of robust australopithecine skulls and found that -- in spite of the name -- much of the skull above the jaw is relatively thin and fragile.

Retooled ancestors; a group of small-brained creatures who disappeared 1 million years ago may have made and used tools before the direct ancestors of modern humans

Notes Holly Smith, "The new CT study is quite important, but it clearly shows that Taung would not have grown up to be a robust australopithecine.' She has examined 20 early hominid juvenile jaws, including both East African robusts and South African "gracile' australopithecines such as A.

Hominid headway: scientists have used modern technology to scour the inside of an ancient child's skull, but the youngster's growth patterns remain controversial

For example, one chimp had nasal bones resembling those of a recently discovered robust australopithecine even though the two specimens share no other cranial features.

Hominoid lineages and keystone clues

Two robust australopithecine species, members of a group that split from the human lineage and eventually became extinct, share a unique tooth eruption pattern "that is only superficially human-like,' says Smith.

Hominid growth slows to an ape's pace

The appearance of a 2.5-million-year-old robust australopithecine with some features of A.

Family feud: enter the 'black skull;' an ancient African skull has stepped into a dispute over the purported 'common ancestor' of hominids, including humans

A group of species called robust australopithecines, which died out 1.2 million years ago, qualifies as a third hominid lineage, in his view.

Fossil sparks: new finds ignite controversy over ape and human evolution

The robust australopithecines: feeding specialization

The biosphere in the human age

The eating habits of ancient hominids known as robust australopithecines have been a matter of debate for decades.

Mmmm, that's crunchy

Alterations of these genes may have spurred the relatively rapid evolution around 2.5 million years ago of so-called robust australopithecines, who had smaller brains than their predecessors and greatly expanded chewing teeth at the back of the mouth, McCollum says.

Out on a Limb

In the human evolutionary family, the so-called robust australopithecines claim the dubious honor of possessing the weirdest-looking heads.