/euh fah ren"sis/
1. an extinct species of early hominid whose fossil remains were discovered in Ethiopia and have been dated at between 3.5 and 4 million years of age.
2. a fossil belonging to this species. Cf. Lucy . See illus. under hominid .
[ 1978; Afar region of Ethiopia, where Lucy was found; see AFAR, -ENSIS ]