Paleoanthropologists often describe The Middle Pleistocene period as "the muddle in the middle '' because human evolution from this time is poorly understood and heavily debated. To try and uncover this mystery in our origins, researchers have recently named a new human ancestor species, Homo bodoensis.
The new name is based on a skull found in Bodo D’ar, Ethiopia. The name is a result of the reassessment of existing fossils from Africa and Eurasia. The said fossils were previously attributed to those of the Homo heidelbergensis or Homo rhodesiensis. Based on new DNA evidence, the former was revealed to be early Neanderthal. The latter, on the other hand, remains poorly defined.
Palaeoanthropologist Dr. Mirjana Roksandic hopes that this new name will "stick around for a long time," as new names "will live only if other researchers use it."
More about this over at The University of Winnipeg.
(Image Credit: Ettore Mazza)
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