1 capitalized. a : a hypothetical group of extinct primates intermediate between man and the anthropoid apes.

What do you know about Pithecanthropus?

An extinct hominin known from fossil remains discovered in Java in 1891 and originally designated Pithecanthropus erectus because it was thought to represent a species evolutionarily intermediate between humans and nonhuman apes. It is sometimes referred to as Java man. ...

Who coined the term Pithecanthropus?

The terms Anthropopithecus (Blainville, 1839) and Pithecanthropus (Haeckel, 1868) are obsolete taxa describing either chimpanzees or archaic humans. ... Pithecanthropus is now classed as Homo erectus, thus a junior synonym of Homo.