Australopithecus*: Meaning and Definition of

Aus•tra•lo•pith•e•cus

Pronunciation: (ô-strā"lō-pith'i-kus, -pu-thē'kus, ô"stru-), [key]
— n.
  1. an extinct genus of small-brained,large-toothed bipedal hominids that lived in Africa between one and four million years ago. Cf. australopithecine.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.