The incredible case of the only known individual whose parents were two different species

[Judi Lynn]

Jess Hardiman

Published 16:44, 12 August 2022 at BST
| Last updated 16:44, 12 August 2022 at BST



An ancient child from Siberia is thought to be the only known individual whose parents were from different species.


While many of have heard about our closest relatives the Neanderthals, less is known about the Denisovans who lived in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic ages.

Only tiny fragments of bone and teeth remain of the Denisovans after being unearthed from the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, but scientists have been able to use these fossil pieces to gather some answers.

A recent project called Finder - Fossil Fingerprinting and Identification of New Denisovan Remains from Pleistocene Asia aimed to shed some light on the long-extinct species and their relations with both the Neaderthals and Homo sapiens.

Project leader Katerina Douka, of the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany and a visitor at Oxford University, said in a statement back in 2018: “We aim to find out where they lived, when they came into contact with modern humans – and why they went extinct.”

More:
https://www.unilad.com/news/ancient-girl-parents-two-different-species-20220812