[pith-i-kan-thruh-puh
s, -kuhn-throh-puhs] 
| a former genus of extinct hominids whose members have now been assigned to the proposed species Homo erectus. |
| pithecanthropus (pĭth'ĭ-kān'thrə-pəs, -kān-thrō'pəs) Pronunciation Key
An extinct hominid postulated from bones found in Java in 1891 and originally designated Pithecanthropus erectus because it was thought to represent a species evolutionarily between apes and humans. Pithecanthropus is now classified as Homo erectus. Also called Java man. See more at Homo erectus. |