Homo erectus
/ˌhəʊməʊ ɪˈrɛktəs/Palaeontology
noun
An extinct hominid that is believed to have spread from Africa to Europe and Asia about 2 million years ago and appears to have survived in Asia to at least 150,000 years ago. Compare Java, Peking man, Solo. Also in extended use: man as a biped.
- It was originally known as Pithecanthropus erectus; fossils formerly assigned to the genera Sinanthropus, Meganthropus, and Telanthropus are now generally regarded as examples of Homo erectus. Homo erectus may be synonymous with the African Homo ergaster, in which case it is probably ancestral to most later hominids..
Origin
Early 20th century; earliest use found in Popular Science Monthly. From scientific Latin Homo erectus, species name from Homo, genus name + erectus, specific name, specific use of classical Latin ērectus, so called on account of its upright (fully bipedal) posture. Compare earlier Pithecanthropus.
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