'Dragon Man': Scientists say new human species is our closest ancestor

WASHINGTON: Scientists announced on Friday that a skull discovered in northeast China represents a newly discovered human species they have named Homo longi, or"Dragon Man" - and they say the lineage should replace Neanderthals as our closest relatives.

"On our analyses, the Harbin group is more closely linked to H. sapiens than the Neanderthals are - that is, Harbin shared a more recent common ancestor with us than the Neanderthals did," co-author Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum, London told AFP.The findings were published in three papers in the journal The Innovation.The skull dates back at least 146,000 years, placing it in the Middle Pleistocene.

"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," said Ji, a co-author of the study.The team believe the cranium belonged to a male, around 50 years old, living in a forested floodplain.

Given the location where the skull was found as well as the large-sized man it implies, the team believe H longi may have been well adapted for harsh environments and would have been able to disperse throughout Asia.Researchers first studied the external morphology of the cranium using over 600 traits, and then ran millions of simulations using a computer model to build trees of relatedness to other fossils.

MarvelStudios Marvel JackKirby StanLee made this discovery in the 1960's!

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