Homo - Species

Species

See also: list of human evolution fossils

Species status of Homo rudolfensis, H. ergaster, H. georgicus, H. antecessor, H. cepranensis, H. rhodesiensis and H. floresiensis remains under debate. H. heidelbergensis and H. neanderthalensis are closely related to each other and have been considered to be subspecies of H. sapiens. Recently, nuclear DNA from a Neanderthal specimen from Vindija Cave has been sequenced, as well, using two different methods that yield similar results regarding Neanderthal and H. sapiens lineages, with both analyses suggesting a date for the split between 460,000 and 700,000 years ago, though a population split of around 370,000 years is inferred. The nuclear DNA results indicate about 30% of derived alleles in H. sapiens are also in the Neanderthal lineage. This high frequency may suggest some gene flow between ancestral humans and Neanderthal populations.

  • view
  • talk
  • edit
Comparative table of Homo species
Species Lived when (Ma) Lived where Adult height Adult mass Cranial capacity (cm³) Fossil record Discovery / publication of name
Denisova hominin 0.04 Altai Krai 1 site 2010
H. antecessor 1.2 – 0.8 Spain 1.75 m (5.7 ft) 90 kg (200 lb) 1,000 2 sites 1997
H. cepranensis 0.5 – 0.35 Italy 1,000 1 skull cap 1994/2003
H. erectus 1.8 – 0.2 Africa, Eurasia (Java, China, India, Caucasus) 1.8 m (5.9 ft) 60 kg (130 lb) 850 (early) – 1,100 (late) Many 1891/1892
H. ergaster 1.9 – 1.4 Eastern and Southern Africa 1.9 m (6.2 ft) 700–850 Many 1975
H. floresiensis 0.10 – 0.012 Indonesia 1.0 m (3.3 ft) 25 kg (55 lb) 400 7 individuals 2003/2004
H. gautengensis >2 – 0.6 South Africa 1.0 m (3.3 ft) 1 individual 2010/2010
H. habilis 2.3 – 1.4 Africa 1.0–1.5 m (3.3–4.9 ft) 33–55 kg (73–120 lb) 510–660 Many 1960/1964
H. heidelbergensis 0.6 – 0.35 Europe, Africa, China 1.8 m (5.9 ft) 90 kg (200 lb) 1,100–1,400 Many 1908
H. neanderthalensis 0.35 – 0.03 Europe, Western Asia 1.6 m (5.2 ft) 55–70 kg (120–150 lb) (heavily built) 1,200–1,900 Many (1829)/1864
H. rhodesiensis 0.3 – 0.12 Zambia 1,300 Very few 1921
H. rudolfensis 1.9 Kenya 700 2 sites 1972/1986
H. sapiens idaltu 0.16 – 0.15 Ethiopia 1,450 3 craniums 1997/2003
H. sapiens sapiens (modern humans) 0.2 – present Worldwide 1.4–1.9 m (4.6–6.2 ft) 50–100 kg (110–220 lb) 1,000–1,980 Still living —/1758

Read more about this topic:  Homo

Famous quotes containing the word species:

    “If there is a species which is more maltreated than children, then it must be their toys, which they handle in an incredibly off-hand manner.... Toys are thus the end point in that long chain in which all the conditions of despotic high-handedness are in play which enchain beings one to another, from one species to another—cruel divinities to their sacrificial victims, from masters to slaves, from adults to children, and from children to their objects.”
    —Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)

    “Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.”
    —Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)

    “For my own part I think no innocent species of wit or pleasantry should be suppressed: and that a good pun may be admitted among the smaller excellencies of lively conversation.”
    —James Boswell (1740–1795)