Pithecanthropus

views updated Jun 27 2018

Pithecanthropus a former genus name applied to some fossil hominids found in Java in 1891. Also called Java man. The term was originally coined as a name for a hypothetical creature bridging the gap in evolutionary development between apes and man, and came from Greek pithēkos ‘ape’ + anthropos ‘man’.

Pithecanthropus

views updated Jun 08 2018

Pithecanthropus See Homo.

More From encyclopedia.com