ramidus

See Ardipithecus ramidus.

ramidus

1. Only used in Ardipithecus ramidus

From New Latin ramidus, from Afar ramid (“root”).

ramidus (plural ramidi)

1. (informal) Ellipsis of Ardipithecus ramidus. (an early hominid from the Pliocene)
   • 1995, Biology Digest - Volume 21, page 83:

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

   • 2006, Henry Kong, A History of the Universe: Volume I: Complexity, page 117:

     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.

   • 2011, Paulos Milkias, Ethiopia‎, page xvii:

     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.

   • 2013, Martin Malloy, Evolution in a Nutshell, page 137:

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

• marudis, radiums