Dinopithecus

noun

Di·no·pi·the·cus

-pə̇ˈthēkəs,

-ˈpithə̇kəs

: a genus of extinct Pleistocene African baboons that were nearly the size of gorillas

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from dino- dino- + -pithecus -pithecus

Note: Genus name introduced by the Scottish-born South African physician and paleontologist Robert Broom (1866-1951) in "On Some New Pleistocene Mammals from Limestone Caves of the Transvaal," South African Journal of Science, vol. 33 (March, 1937), pp. 753-55. The full species name of Broom's baboon was Dinopithecus ingens.