Episode 3 of 3
Renaming to Pithecanthropus erectus
- When
- 1894
- Where
- Publication context
Dubois renamed the specimen Pithecanthropus erectus in 1894, arguing it was a transitional form between apes and humans.
Believing the fossils represented a missing link, Dubois initially named them Anthropopithecus erectus. In 1894, he renamed the species Pithecanthropus erectus, borrowing the genus name from Ernst Haeckel, who had coined it for a supposed missing link.
Sources
- Java Man Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-02
- Eugène Dubois Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-05
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.