zinjanthropushttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zinjanthropus_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_useZinjanthropus, n.
Revised 2011

Zinjanthropusnoun

Palaeontology. Now historical.
  1. 1959–
    An extinct robust hominid first known from a fossil skull found by Mary Leakey at Olduvai (now Oldupai), Tanzania, formerly known as Zinjanthropus boisei but now classified as Paranthropus (or Australopithecus) boisei. Also: the former genus Zinjanthropus itself.
    The original specimen was nicknamed ‘Zinj’ (cf. Nutcracker Man n.).
    1. 1959
      Zinjanthropus gen nov... A new genus of the Hominidae.
      L. S. B. Leakey in Nature 15 August 492/1
    2. 1962
      Dr. Leakey's famous ‘nutcracker man’ Zinjanthropus (which has now been dated as having lived over 1,000,000 years ago).
      Listener 5 April 589/1
    3. 1989
      The Leakeys began to unearth many important fossils from the Rift Valley..from species named ‘Zinjanthropus’ and ‘Homo habilis’.
      A. J. Jeffreys in J. R. Durant, Human Origins vi. 83
    4. 2007
      Zinjanthropus gave the impression of a much more muscular masticatory apparatus than robust australopiths known at the time.
      C. J. Cela-Conde & F. J. Ayala, Human Evolution v. 159/1

Zinjanthropus, n. was revised in September 2011.

Zinjanthropus, n. was last modified in July 2023.