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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/evan.21929
Resolving the “muddle in the middle”: The case for Homo bodoensis sp. nov.
Abstract
Recent developments in the field of palaeoanthropology necessitate the suppression of two hominin taxa and the introduction of a new species of hominins to help resolve the current nebulous state of Middle Pleistocene (Chibanian) hominin taxonomy. In particular, the poorly defined and variably understood hominin taxa Homo heidelbergensis (both sensu stricto and
sensu lato) and Homo rhodesiensis need to be abandoned as they fail to
reflect the full range of hominin variability in the Middle Pleistocene. Instead,
we propose: (1) introduction of a new taxon, Homo bodoensis sp. nov., as an early Middle Pleistocene ancestor of the Homo sapiens lineage, with a pan-African
distribution that extends into the eastern Mediterranean (Southeast Europe
and the Levant); (2) that many of the fossils from Western Europe (e.g.
Sima de los Huesos) currently assigned to H. heidelbergensis s.s. be
reassigned
to Homo neanderthalensis to reflect the early appearance of Neanderthal
derived traits in the Middle Pleistocene in the region; and (3) that the
Middle
Pleistocene Asian fossils, particularly from China, likely represent a different
lineage altogether.
...
5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Here, we present H. bodoensis as a new species and suggest that it is
ancestral
to H. sapiens. However, our new species is not to be considered the MRCA of Eurasian (Neanderthals, Denisovans) and African (H. sapiens) hominins. As schematically presented in Figure 1, H. bodoensis separated from the Eurasian groups before the split of the Eurasian forms into Neanderthals,
Denisovans, and
possibly other groups. While essentially an African species, H. bodoensis may have played a role in the evolutionary history of the Levant and Europe. In particular, Middle Pleistocene specimens from the two regions (mostly concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean), which do not demonstrate any Neanderthal traits, such as Mala Balanica (Serbia) and some specimens from
the
Levant such as Hazorea and Nadaouiyeh Aïn Askar (for review see Reference 46) could be considered as H. bodoensis. We did not include them in the H. bodoensis
hypodigm at this stage, because these fossils are too fragmentary.
However, the
species was potentially present in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene (as evidenced by the Ceprano specimen) and may have contributed to a mixed morphology seen in Arago, Petralona, and possibly other fossils in Western Europe.
The newly defined species H. bodoensis, described on the basis of the Bodo 1 specimen has clear advantages: (1) it recognizes the variability and
geographic
distribution of Middle Pleistocene hominins; and (2) it describes the unique morphology of the African Middle Pleistocene hominins that extends into the eastern Mediterranean that is distinct from H. neanderthalensis and
predates the appearance of H. sapiens. While not a true species in the
strict biological sense
(since there is strong and growing evidence of migrations as well as gene
flow
between these diverged groups) this newly defined taxon cuts through the obfuscating and inconsistent use of improperly named and defined Middle Pleistocene hominins in Europe and Africa and should facilitate more
consistent
and meaningful discussions around these various topics presented here.
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