Arambourg (1954) described two mandibles discovered at the Tighennif Quarry (Algeria) also known as Ternifine or Palikao, and based on these he established the new genus and species Atlanthropus mauritanicus.
Dolinar-Osole (1956) discussed the morphology of the Tighennif mandibles 1 and 2 and suggested that a genus-level distinction as proposed by Arambourg was premature. Dolinar-Osole (1956 p. 178) instead proposed the replacement name, Homo (Pithecanthropus) atlanticus.
A rough English translation of the original Slovenian paragraph reads, "In our view of the hominid system, the name of the new one should be Homo (Pithecanthropus) mauritanicus, atlanticus or ternifinus, where the first names indicated affiliation by signs, and the third the place of the site. Obviously Arambourg does not find it necessary to combine equally high levels of development into a generic name. It is not about transparency of the system and greater uniformity. Perhaps - according to Weinert's system - the nickname 'anthropus' with whichever prefix to indicate a certain stage of development (Pithecanthropus, Sinanthropus, Africanthropus, Euranthropus, Atlanthropus)? From his three reports we cannot know exactly his point of view." (pp. 178-179)
Campbell (1965) lists the name as an available objective junior synonym of Atlanthropus mauritanicus Arambourg, 1954, whereas Groves (1989) lists the name as a junior synonym of Homo sapiens heidelbergensis,
