Dryopithecus Definition
drīə-pĭthĭ-kəs
noun
A genus of extinct apes known from Miocene and Pliocene fossil remains found in Africa and Eurasia and believed to be ancestral to the living great apes, including humans.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
- genus Dryopithecus
Origin of Dryopithecus
-
New Latin Dryopithēcus genus name Greek drūs oak (in reference to the apes' arboreal lifestyle and to the fossil remains of oak found in the same area as some of the first known specimens of the genus) deru- in Indo-European roots Greek pithēkos ape
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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