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My understanding is that Neanderthals are now classified as a sub-species rather than a distinct species. So instead of Homo Sapiens and Homo Neanderthalensis
by cimmanom 9y ago
My understanding is that Neanderthals are now classified as a sub-species rather than a distinct species. So instead of Homo Sapiens and Homo Neanderthalensis (sp?) we have Homo Sapiens Sapiens and Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis.
It's not entirely unlike dogs and wolves, which can interbreed fluently. There are dozens of subspecies of Canis Lupus (red wolves, gray wolves, etc, etc), and one of them is Canis Lupus Familiaris, the domestic dog.
- patall 9y agoThe current de facto status is that the concept of species does not exist anymore, or more precisely, it mostly only still exists for historical reasons and coherence with it. When talking about genetic identity nowadays there is only the (type) specimen and genetic distance to other individuals. For example, Svante Pääbo and his team set precedence on purpose in not declaring the Denisovans anything but only describing a group of humans that genetically differ to an unexpected degree from modern humans.
- ChemicalWarfare 9y agohow far of a distance before the line is drawn? by that logic chimps are also " a group of humans that genetically differ to an unexpected degree from modern humans."
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]