Discovery of ‘Dragon Man’ skull may add new species to human family tree

Source: TOI  

What is the News?  

Chinese researchers have unveiled an ancient skull that could belong to a completely new species of human.  

About the New Species of Human:  

• The researchers have named the new species Homo longi. It has been nicknamed “Dragon Man” for the Dragon River region of northeast China where the skull was found.  
• When was it discovered? The skull was discovered in 1933 but only came to the attention recently after a labourer came across it at a construction site in China.  

 Key Features:  

• The Dragon man is at least 140,000 years old but no older than 309,000 years.   
• It belonged to a mature male who had a huge brain, massive brow ridges, deep set eyes and a bulbous nose.  
• The skull is huge compared with the average skulls belonging to other human species including our own. Its brain was comparable in size to those from our species.  

 Significance of this discovery:  

• The discovery of Dragon Man has the potential to rewrite the history of Human Evolution.  
• It is said that Homo longi could replace Neanderthals as the closest relative to our own species, Homo sapiens.