ramidus

noun

1. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal)Ellipsis of Ardipithecus ramidus (an early hominid from the Pliocene).

   “The first ramidus fossil found was an upper molar tooth, unearthed in 1992.”

   “Ramidi were in many ways a mix of humans and chimps. Their smallish brains were barely larger than those of a modern chimp. But they held their heads on the top of the vertebral column instead of in front of it; ie, they walked upright. It is likely that ramidus was the ancestor of all subsequent hominid species, including our own.”

   “It is the birthplace of human beings' ancestor Lucy, who lived 3.2 million years ago; an older ancestor, Ardi, who lived 4.4 million years ago; and the even older ramidus who lived 5.8 million years before humans' known written history.”

   “Ramidus was either an early intermediate hominid or a dead end that faded out without diverging into more species.”