Wiktionary

Australopithecus

See also: australopithecus

Translingual

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Etymology

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New Latin, from Latin austrālis (“southern”) + Ancient Greek πίθηκος (píthēkos, “ape”), named by Australian anatomist Raymond Dart in 1925 in reference to the type specimen having been found in South Africa.

Proper noun

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Australopithecus m (plural Australopitheci)

  1. A taxonomic genus within the family Hominidae – a group of extinct hominids related to humans – australopiths.
    • 1979 October 24, W. Mehlert, “The Australopithecines and (Alleged) Early Man”, in Harold L. Armstrong, editor, Creation Research Society Quarterly, volume 17, number 1 (in English), Ann Arbor, Mich.: Creation Research Society, published 1980 June, page 24, column 1:
      Likewise, Richard Leakey himself is of the opinion that all Australopitheci were not habitual upright walkers.
    • 2000, Bernard Michollet, “Evolution and Anthropology. Human Beings as the ‘Image of God’”, in Bas van Iersel, Christoph Theobald, Hermann Häring, editors, Evolution and Faith (Concilium; 2000/1) (in English), London: SCM Press, →ISBN, section III (The Dialogue with Faith and Theology), page 81:
      Do we have to see in this making of tools only a particular adaptation, analogous, for example, to birds making nests? Or are degrees of intelligence and significant consciousness already present in certain types of Australopitheci?
    • 2015, David Bainbridge, “Where women’s bodies came from”, in Curvology: The Origins and Power of Female Body Shape (in English), London: Portobello Books, →ISBN, part I (The Body), page 19:
      Australopithecus was probably already adapted for bipedal walking, but its brain was not much larger than a chimp’s, so there was still a lot of obstetric leeway. The pelvis was now a different shape, however, and we think that baby Australopitheci may have been born with their head ‘sideways’ relative to their mother’s body, with their nose pointing towards their mother’s left or right hip.
    • 2020, Marianen Gommers, Desirée Hagens, Arthur Jansen, Miranda Jansen, André van Leijen, Hans Rawee, Theo de Rouw, Biologie voor jou, edition 6.1 (in Dutch), Malmberg, →ISBN, page 217:
      In afbeelding 2 staat een schatting van de lichaamslengte van deze twee twee Australopitheci.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

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Members of the genus Paranthropus are sometimes grouped together with this genus.

Hypernyms

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Hyponyms

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From the genus name.

Noun

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Australopithecus (plural Australopitheci or Australopithecuses)

  1. Synonym of australopith.
    • 1959, P[avel] Kann, translated by Robert Daglish, “Strelka of Vasilyevsky Island”, in Leningrad: A Short Guide, Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, page 86:
      In its turn the institute received from the British Museum of Natural History plaster casts of the skulls of Australopithecuses, a species of higher ape which lived over a million years ago.
    • 1960 autumn, Herbert Musurillo, “[Book Reviews: Philosophy] The Phenomenon of Man. By Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. […]”, in Thought: Fordham University Quarterly; A Review of Culture and Idea, volume XXXV, number 138, New York, N.Y.: Fordham University Press, →ISSN, page 450:
      In his final period, Teilhard felt he saw all his own Weltanschauung confirmed by Dr. Broom’s work with the fossils of Australopitheci in South Africa; […]
    • 1963, Stephen Fuchs, “The Human Race in Its Development from the Earliest Times”, in The Origin of Man and His Culture, New York, N.Y.: Asia Publishing House, page 25:
      1. Australopithecus africanus. (a) Taungs: It was found in 1924 in a cave at Taungs in Bechuanaland, South Africa. It is the oldest of all Australopitheci, about 600,000 years old.
    • 1965, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, translated by J[ohn] M[ichael] Cohen, “The Question of Fossil Man”, in The Appearance of Man, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, →LCCN, pages 108–109:
      On the other, in the fossil-bearing pockets exposed in the Transvaal, in the region of Johannesburg (Taungs, Sterkfontein) by quarries opened in the limestone (exactly as at Choukoutien), a whole series of skulls and jaws, and some limb bones have, since 1925, gradually been disclosing the extremely curious group of Australopitheci.
    • 1980, M[ikhail] I[vanovich] Budyko, anonymous translator, “The Origin of Man”, in Global Ecology, Moscow: Progress Publishers, section VIII (The Ecological Mechanism of the Evolution of Man), page 224:
      In the middle of the nineteenth century there were very few paleontological data shedding light on the origin of man. During the past century many major discoveries were made in that area, among which the discovery of remains of Australopithecuses in South and East Africa was particularly important, as was the discovery of remains of Pithecanthropes and of closely related creatures (Homo erectus) in Java, China, and Africa.
    • 1995, Claudine Roland, translated by Ann MacDonald-Plénacoste, “Tools and Men”, in Prehistory (In Focus), Vic-en-Bigorre: MSM, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 9:
      The Australopitheci, who lived between the years - 6 million and - 1 million, perhaps mingled with the first representatives of the human race, the Homo habilis… their presence is certified in Africa as early as the year - 2.4 million, but could date back to the year - 3 million.
    • 2002, Dario Gamboni, translated by Mark Treharne, “From the origins to the classical age”, in Potential Images: Ambiguity and Indeterminacy in Modern Art, London: Reaktion Books, →ISBN, pages 22–23:
      This stone, which was discovered, several kilometres from any possible geological source, in a cave occupied by Australopitheci in South Africa, must have been found and transported about three million years ago on account of its redness, its accidental likeness to a face and, above all, because of its ‘gaze’.
    • 2010, Bruno G. Bara, translated by John Douthwaite, “The Evolution of Communicative Competence”, in Cognitive Pragmatics: The Mental Processes of Communication, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, →ISBN, page 215:
      In this sphere too, Homo habilis was the first species of Homo to exhibit the brain capacity crucial to sustain language: 700 ccs against the 450 ccs of the Australopitheci who preceded him, and significantly greater development in the parietal and frontal areas, which are respectively responsible for the control over language and over the hands.
    • 2012, Stephen B. Pearl, “Officialdom”, in Worlds Apart, Toronto, Ont.: Dark Dragon Publishing, published 2013 July 30, →ISBN, page 25:
      It’s Wizard McDowl, chaos magic terrifies him. He watched his parents turn into Australopithecuses during the war. He’s never got over it.
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