On Friday, June 25, scientists published three papers in the journal The Innovation detailing the discovery of a new human species that they named Homo longi or "Dragon Man."
The fossils of this Dragon Man were found in the 1930s in northeast China, but recent analysis revealed that they could be the closest relative of homo sapiens, replacing Neanderthals.
The human fossils, known as Harbin cranium, sits in the Geoscience Museum in Hebel GEO University, SciTech Daily reported. It is said to be the largest Homo skull ever discovered.
Dragon Man Fossils is One of the Most Complete Human Cranial Fossils in the World
Study author Qiang Ji, a professor of paleontology from Hebel GEO University said that the Harbin cranium is one of the most complete human fossils found in the world, preserving many of its morphological details that are critical for understanding human evolution and the origins of Homo sapiens.
The Dragon Man fossils were found in Harbin City in the Heilongjiang province of China. Its skull suggests that the Dragon Man could have had a brain that is comparable to the size of modern humans. But researchers note that the skull has larger and almost square eye sockets, thick brow ridges a wide mouth and oversized teeth.
"While it shows typical archaic human features, the Harbin cranium presents a mosaic combination of primitive and derived characters setting itself apart from all the other previously-named Homo species," says Ji, as quoted by Science Daily. This led researchers to classify the fossils as a new human species that they call Homo longi.
The team believes that the cranium was from a male individual that is approximately 50 years old. They also think that like homo sapiens, the Dragon Man mostly hunted mammals and birds, harvested fruits and vegetables, and caught fish.
Given the size of the cranium and the location where it was found, the team theorized that the man may have adapted to the harsh environments, which could have led them to other parts of Asia.
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Dragon Man Might Replace Neanderthals
The name Homo longi was derived from Long Jiang, which means "Dragon River". South China Morning Post reported that researchers believe that if Homo sapiens might have encountered Homo longi if they were able to reach East Asia, and perhaps have interbred with them. But that is still unclear because of a lack of archaeological material.
The team traced back the lineage of Homo sapiens and believed that the Dragon Man might be the closest hominin relatives, even more than the Neanderthals, contrary to previous claims.
They noted that the findings they gathered from analyzing the Harbin cranium could have the potential of rewriting major elements of human evolution. Nonetheless, the Harbin cranium provides more evidence for a better understanding of the diversity of human species and its evolutionary relationships among other Homo species and populations.
The findings ultimately establish a lineage in East Asia with its own evolutionary history and show the importance of the region for understanding human evolution.
Full description of the Homo longi is described in three papers below:
- Geochemical provenancing and direct dating of the Harbin archaic human cranium
- Late Middle Pleistocene Harbin cranium represents a new Homo species
- Massive cranium from Harbin in northeastern China establishes a new Middle Pleistocene human lineage
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