Compendium

hominin-species-catalog

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Hominin Species Catalog

A comprehensive reference catalog of every named hominin species from the late Miocene through the Holocene. Each entry gives temporal range, discovery, key specimens with locations, body and brain size, locomotion, diet, and associated tool industry where applicable. Living great-apes follow at the end as outgroup comparison, with a final section on admixture among Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and ghost lineages. Dates in Ma (millions of years ago) and kya (thousands of years ago).

I. Late Miocene Hominins (~7 – 5.3 Ma)

Sahelanthropus tchadensis

  • Temporal range: c.7 Ma
  • Discovery: Michel Brunet (MPFT), 19 July 2001, Toros-Menalla, Djurab Desert, Chad
  • Holotype: TM 266-01-060-1 (“Toumaï”), a near-complete cranium
  • Brain: ~360 – 370 cm³ (chimp-sized)
  • Locomotion: Anteriorly placed foramen magnum suggests bipedalism, though contested; femur (TM 266-01-063) studied 2020
  • Habitat: Mosaic of woodland, grassland, lake margin
  • Note: Oldest claimed hominin; status disputed by some (Wolpoff; Cela-Conde)

Orrorin tugenensis

  • Temporal range: 6.1 – 5.7 Ma
  • Discovery: Brigitte Senut and Martin Pickford, 2000, Tugen Hills, Kenya
  • Holotype: BAR 1000a’00 (mandibular fragment); femora BAR 1002’00, 1003’00
  • Brain: Unknown (no skull)
  • Locomotion: Femoral neck anatomy strongly suggests habitual bipedalism
  • Note: “Millennium Man”

Ardipithecus kadabba

  • Temporal range: 5.8 – 5.2 Ma
  • Discovery: Yohannes Haile-Selassie, 2001, Middle Awash, Ethiopia
  • Holotype: ALA-VP-2/10 (mandible fragment)
  • Locomotion: Inferred bipedal from toe-bone curvature
  • Originally: Described as subspecies A. ramidus kadabba; raised to species 2004

II. Early Pliocene Hominins (~4.4 – 2.9 Ma)

Ardipithecus ramidus

  • Temporal range: 4.4 Ma
  • Discovery: Tim White, Gen Suwa, Berhane Asfaw, 1992 fragments; named 1994; “Ardi” skeleton (ARA-VP-6/500) published in 11 papers, Science October 2009
  • Site: Aramis, Middle Awash, Ethiopia
  • Brain: 300 – 350 cm³
  • Body: ~50 kg, 120 cm
  • Locomotion: Facultative biped on the ground; arboreal in trees; grasping hallux retained
  • Habitat: Woodland (not savanna) — overturned the “savanna hypothesis”

Australopithecus anamensis

  • Temporal range: 4.2 – 3.9 Ma
  • Discovery: Meave Leakey, 1995, Kanapoi and Allia Bay, Lake Turkana, Kenya
  • Key specimens: KNM-KP 29281 (mandible); MRD-VP-1/1 (cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia, 2019, published Haile-Selassie 2019) at 3.8 Ma
  • Brain: ~370 cm³
  • Locomotion: Habitual biped (tibia morphology)
  • Note: Ancestor of A. afarensis in an anagenetic sequence per most analyses

Australopithecus afarensis

  • Temporal range: 3.9 – 2.9 Ma
  • Discoveries:
    • “Lucy” (AL 288-1): Donald Johanson, 24 November 1974, Hadar, Ethiopia — ~40% complete adult female skeleton
    • Laetoli footprints: Mary Leakey, 1976–78, Tanzania — ~3.66 Ma trackway demonstrating habitual bipedalism
    • LH 4 (holotype): Laetoli adult mandible
    • “Selam” / Dikika Child (DIK-1-1): Zeresenay Alemseged, 2000, Dikika, Ethiopia — 3.3 Ma juvenile
    • AL 333 “First Family”: 17 individuals at Hadar, 1975
  • Brain: 380 – 485 cm³
  • Body: Sexually dimorphic; females ~30 kg, 105 cm; males ~45 kg, 150 cm
  • Locomotion: Habitual biped on the ground; arboreal use of trees retained

Kenyanthropus platyops

  • Temporal range: 3.5 – 3.2 Ma
  • Discovery: Meave Leakey et al., 1999; published 2001, Lomekwi, west Turkana, Kenya
  • Holotype: KNM-WT 40000 (flat-faced cranium)
  • Brain: ~350 cm³
  • Note: Possibly the maker of the Lomekwian 3.3-Ma stone tools (Harmand et al., 2015) — predating Oldowan by ~700 kya

Australopithecus deyiremeda

  • Temporal range: 3.5 – 3.3 Ma
  • Discovery: Haile-Selassie, 2015, Burtele, Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia
  • Note: Contemporary with A. afarensis; species status debated

Australopithecus bahrelghazali

  • Temporal range: 3.5 – 3.0 Ma
  • Discovery: Brunet et al., 1995, Bahr el Ghazal, Chad (“Abel” mandible KT 12/H1)
  • Note: Westernmost australopith; status as separate species contested

III. Late Pliocene Australopithecines (3.0 – 2.0 Ma)

Australopithecus africanus

  • Temporal range: 3.3 – 2.1 Ma
  • Discoveries:
    • Taung Child (Type 1): Raymond Dart, 1924, Taung, South Africa — first australopith ever named, Australopithecus africanus (Dart 1925, Nature)
    • “Mrs Ples” (Sts 5): Robert Broom, 1947, Sterkfontein
    • STW 573 “Little Foot”: Ronald Clarke, 1994–98 (excavated 1997–2017), Sterkfontein Member 2; possibly 3.67 Ma
  • Brain: 420 – 510 cm³
  • Body: ~30 – 40 kg
  • Locomotion: Habitual biped, retained climbing
  • Habitat: Cave deposits in the South African Cradle of Humankind

Australopithecus garhi

  • Temporal range: 2.5 Ma
  • Discovery: Berhane Asfaw, Tim White et al., 1997; named 1999, Bouri, Middle Awash, Ethiopia
  • Holotype: BOU-VP-12/130 (cranium)
  • Note: Associated with cut-marked animal bones suggesting tool use; possible early Homo ancestor

Australopithecus sediba

  • Temporal range: 1.977 Ma
  • Discovery: Lee Berger, 15 August 2008 (Matthew Berger spotted first bone); published 2010, Malapa Cave, South Africa
  • Holotype: MH1 (juvenile, “Karabo”); paratype MH2 (adult female)
  • Brain: 420 cm³
  • Body: ~35 kg, 130 cm
  • Locomotion: Hyper-pronated bipedal gait; mosaic features

IV. Robust Australopithecines (Genus Paranthropus)

Paranthropus aethiopicus

  • Temporal range: 2.7 – 2.3 Ma
  • Holotype: “Black Skull” (KNM-WT 17000), Alan Walker, 1985, west Turkana, Kenya
  • Brain: ~410 cm³
  • Note: Manganese-stained dark cranium; sagittal crest

Paranthropus boisei

  • Temporal range: 2.4 – 1.4 Ma
  • Discoveries:
    • “Zinj” (OH 5): Mary Leakey, 17 July 1959, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania — originally Zinjanthropus boisei
    • KNM-ER 406: Richard Leakey, 1969, Koobi Fora
    • Konso cranium (KGA10-525): 1993, Ethiopia
  • Brain: 410 – 545 cm³
  • Body: ~50 kg
  • Diet: Hyper-megadont — massive molars, sagittal crest, dished face; “Nutcracker Man”

Paranthropus robustus

  • Temporal range: 2.0 – 1.0 Ma
  • Discovery: Robert Broom, 1938, Kromdraai, South Africa
  • Key specimens: TM 1517 (holotype); SK 48 (Swartkrans)
  • Brain: ~410 – 530 cm³

V. Early Homo (2.5 – 1.5 Ma)

Homo habilis

  • Temporal range: 2.4 – 1.4 Ma
  • Discovery: Louis Leakey, Phillip Tobias, John Napier, 1964, Olduvai Gorge — named from OH 7 (juvenile mandible + hand), OH 8 (foot), OH 16
  • Other specimens: OH 24 “Twiggy”; KNM-ER 1813 (small cranium)
  • Brain: 510 – 687 cm³
  • Body: ~32 kg, 120 cm
  • Tools: Oldowan industry (Mode 1 flake tools), although Lomekwian now predates this by ~700 kya
  • Note: Status as Homo contested by some (Wood); sometimes left in Australopithecus

Homo rudolfensis

  • Temporal range: 2.4 – 1.8 Ma
  • Discovery: Richard Leakey, 1972; named by Alekseev 1986, Koobi Fora, Lake Turkana
  • Holotype: KNM-ER 1470 (large cranium, ~750 cm³)
  • Brain: 700 – 750 cm³
  • Note: Larger and flatter-faced than H. habilis

VI. Homo erectus Sensu Lato (1.9 Ma – ~110 kya)

Homo ergaster

  • Temporal range: 1.9 – 1.4 Ma (African form)
  • Holotype: KNM-ER 992 (mandible); often subsumed in H. erectus
  • Other specimens:
    • “Turkana Boy” / “Nariokotome Boy” (KNM-WT 15000): Kamoya Kimeu, 1984, Nariokotome, west Turkana — adolescent male, ~1.6 Ma, ~160 cm
  • Brain: 850 – 900 cm³
  • Body: Modern human-like proportions
  • Tools: Early Acheulean (Mode 2) from c.1.76 Ma

Homo erectus (Asian)

  • Temporal range: 1.9 Ma – c.110 kya (Ngandong, Java)
  • Discoveries:
    • “Java Man” (Pithecanthropus erectus): Eugène Dubois, 1891–92, Trinil, Java — Trinil 2 calotte
    • “Peking Man”: Davidson Black, Pei Wenzhong, 1929 onward, Zhoukoudian, Beijing — fossils lost in WWII
    • Dmanisi: Georgia, 1.77 – 1.85 Ma — five skulls (D2280, D2282, D3444, D2700, D4500); smallest brains in Homo erectus at ~600–730 cm³
    • Sangiran (Java): including S17 (~1000 cm³)
    • Solo River / Ngandong: 12 calvariae; recent dating 117 – 108 kya (Rizal et al., 2020)
  • Brain: 600 – 1250 cm³
  • Body: ~150 – 180 cm
  • Tools: Acheulean rare in East Asia (Movius Line)
  • Note: Longest-lived Homo species; ~1.8 million years

VII. Middle Pleistocene Homo (700 – 130 kya)

Homo antecessor

  • Temporal range: 1.2 Ma – 800 kya
  • Discovery: Eudald Carbonell, José María Bermúdez de Castro, Juan Luis Arsuaga, 1994; named 1997, Gran Dolina (TD6), Atapuerca, Spain
  • Key specimen: ATD6-69 (juvenile face); ATD6-15
  • Brain: ~1000 cm³
  • Note: Cut marks on bones suggest cannibalism; relationship to later European/African forms debated

Homo heidelbergensis

  • Temporal range: 700 – 200 kya
  • Discoveries:
    • Mauer mandible: Otto Schoetensack, 1907, Mauer, Germany — holotype
    • Sima de los Huesos, Atapuerca: 28+ individuals; ~430 kya; nuclear DNA links to Neanderthals (Meyer 2016)
    • Petralona cranium: Greece, 1959
    • Kabwe (Broken Hill) cranium: Zambia, 1921 — sometimes split into H. rhodesiensis
    • Bodo cranium: Ethiopia, 1976
  • Brain: 1100 – 1400 cm³
  • Body: ~70 kg, 175 cm
  • Tools: Late Acheulean transitioning to Mousterian (Mode 3 Levallois)
  • Note: Likely common ancestor of Neanderthals + Denisovans + sapiens; sometimes split into separate African (rhodesiensis) and Eurasian (heidelbergensis) lineages

VIII. Late Pleistocene Hominins (430 – 40 kya)

Homo neanderthalensis

  • Temporal range: 430 – 40 kya
  • Discoveries:
    • Engis 2 (1829, Belgium) and Forbes’ Quarry (1848, Gibraltar) — earliest finds, not recognized as such
    • Neander Valley type specimen (Neanderthal 1): August 1856, Feldhofer Grotto, Germany — described by Schaaffhausen
    • La Chapelle-aux-Saints “Old Man”: 1908, France — basis of “stooped brute” misinterpretation
    • Le Moustier 1: 1908, France
    • Shanidar Cave: Ralph Solecki, 1957–61, Iraqi Kurdistan — 10 individuals; Shanidar IV “flower burial”
    • Krapina: Croatia, 1899 — 800+ fragments
    • Saccopastore, Spy, Tabun, Amud, Saint-Césaire, Vindija
  • Brain: 1200 – 1750 cm³ (larger than modern average)
  • Body: Stocky, cold-adapted; barrel chest; ~80 kg males
  • Tools: Mousterian (Mode 3 Levallois); Châtelperronian (transitional)
  • Genetics: Genome sequenced 2010 (Green, Pääbo et al.); contributes ~1.5 – 4% to non-African modern humans

Homo denisova (Denisovans)

  • Temporal range: 200 – 50 kya (known fossils)
  • Discovery: Phalanx (Denisova 3): Anatoly Derevianko, 2008, Denisova Cave, Altai, Russia; DNA reported by Reich, Krause, Pääbo (Krause et al. 2010, Nature)
  • Key specimens:
    • Denisova 3 (phalanx, juvenile female)
    • Denisova 11 (“Denny”): F1 hybrid daughter of Neanderthal mother + Denisovan father (Slon et al. 2018)
    • Xiahe mandible: 1980 Tibetan find; identified as Denisovan via paleoproteomics (Chen et al. 2019), 160 kya
    • Cobra Cave (Laos) molar: 2018; identified 2022
  • Brain: Unknown (no complete skull)
  • Genetics: Contributes up to ~5% to Melanesians, Aboriginal Australians, Filipino Negritos; ~0.2% to East/South Asians

Homo naledi

  • Temporal range: 335 – 236 kya
  • Discovery: Lee Berger, Steve Tucker, Rick Hunter, 2013; description Berger et al. 2015, eLife, Rising Star Cave (Dinaledi Chamber), South Africa
  • Specimens: 1550+ pieces from at least 15 individuals
  • Brain: 465 – 610 cm³ (small for the date)
  • Body: ~40 kg, 150 cm; mosaic anatomy
  • Note: Small-brained Homo alive contemporary with early H. sapiens; possible deliberate body disposal (Berger 2023 — contested)

Homo floresiensis

  • Temporal range: ~95 – 60 kya (revised from initial 18 kya by Sutikna 2016)
  • Discovery: Mike Morwood, Peter Brown et al., 2003, Liang Bua Cave, Flores, Indonesia
  • Holotype: LB1 (“Hobbit”) — near-complete adult female
  • Brain: 380 – 425 cm³ (chimp-sized)
  • Body: ~30 kg, 106 cm
  • Tools: Sophisticated flake tools at Liang Bua
  • Note: Likely descended from an isolated, insularly dwarfed H. erectus population; possibly an even earlier dwarfed lineage

Homo luzonensis

  • Temporal range: 67 – 50 kya
  • Discovery: Florent Détroit, Armand Mijares et al., 2007–2015; named 2019, Callao Cave, Luzon, Philippines
  • Specimens: Seven teeth, two hand phalanges, two foot phalanges, one femur from at least three individuals
  • Note: Mosaic of australopith- and Homo-like features; another insular SE Asian hominin

IX. Homo sapiens (300 kya – present)

Early African

  • Jebel Irhoud (Morocco): Hublin et al., 2017, Nature — 315 kya cranium IRH 1 (“oldest Homo sapiens”)
  • Omo Kibish I and II (Ethiopia): Richard Leakey, 1967; redated McDougall et al. 2005 to 195 ± 5 kya
  • Herto (Ethiopia): Tim White, Berhane Asfaw, 1997; named 2003 as H. sapiens idaltu — 160 kya
  • Florisbad (South Africa): ~260 kya cranium

Early Out-of-Africa Dispersals

  • Misliya Cave (Israel): 194 – 177 kya — Hershkovitz et al. 2018, Science
  • Skhul and Qafzeh (Israel): 100 – 90 kya
  • Apidima 1 (Greece): Harvati et al. 2019 claimed 210 kya — contested
  • Klasies River (South Africa): 120 – 90 kya
  • Diuktai Cave, Ust’-Ishim, Tianyuan (Eurasia): 45 – 40 kya
  • Mungo Lake (Australia): ~42 kya (was claimed 60 kya, revised down)
  • Lapa do Santo, Monte Verde (S America): 14.5 – 13 kya; Pre-Clovis evidence

Modern Distribution

  • Brain: 1100 – 1700 cm³ (mean ~1350 cm³; declined slightly over the Holocene)
  • Body: Variable; mean 60 – 80 kg adult
  • Tools: Mode 4 blade industries (Aurignacian); Mode 5 microliths

X. Living Great Apes (Outgroup)

SpeciesRangeBody (kg)Note
Pan troglodytes (common chimpanzee)W & C AfricaM 40 – 60, F 32 – 47Closest living relative; ~6 Mya split from human lineage
Pan paniscus (bonobo)DR Congo south of the Congo River30 – 60Split from chimps ~1.8 Ma
Gorilla gorilla (western gorilla; incl. Cross River)W AfricaM 140 – 200, F 70 – 90
Gorilla beringei (eastern gorilla; mountain and Grauer’s)E Congo, Uganda, RwandaM 140 – 220
Pongo pygmaeus (Bornean orangutan)BorneoM 50 – 90, F 30 – 50
Pongo abelii (Sumatran orangutan)N SumatraM 50 – 90
Pongo tapanuliensis (Tapanuli orangutan)S Tapanuli, N SumatrasimilarNamed 2017 (Nater et al.) — newest great-ape species; <800 individuals

XI. Admixture Map (Modern Humans × Archaic Hominins)

Modern PopulationNeanderthal AncestryDenisovan AncestryNotes / Ghost Lineages
Sub-Saharan African (non-Eurasian-backflow)~0.3% (back-flow detected; Chen et al. 2020)~0%“Ghost” archaic introgression detected in West African populations (Durvasula & Sankararaman 2020) — possibly unnamed archaic lineage
North African1 – 2%traceEurasian back-migration component
European1.8 – 2.4% Neanderthal<0.1% DenisovanHigher in East than West Europe (gradient)
East Asian2.3 – 2.6% Neanderthal0.06 – 0.2% DenisovanHigher Neanderthal than Europeans; multiple admixture pulses
South Asian~1.8% Neanderthal0.1 – 0.2% Denisovan
Aboriginal Australian / Melanesian / Papuan~2% Neanderthal3 – 5% DenisovanHighest Denisovan worldwide
Filipino Negrito (e.g. Ayta Magbukon)~2%~5% DenisovanHighest known Denisovan (Larena 2021)
Native American~2% Neanderthaltrace DenisovanVia East-Asian source population

Key dates and events:

  • Neanderthal-modern divergence: ~550 – 750 kya
  • Denisovan-Neanderthal divergence: ~390 – 440 kya
  • Major sapiens × Neanderthal admixture pulse: ~50 – 60 kya, somewhere in SW Asia
  • Multiple distinct Denisovan admixture pulses into Asia and Oceania (at least two; Jacobs et al. 2019)
  • Denisova 11 (“Denny”): F1 Neanderthal × Denisovan child, ~90 kya — demonstrates direct interbreeding
  • “Super-archaic” introgression: small (~1%) component into Denisovans from an unknown earlier lineage (possibly H. erectus)
  • Ghost lineage in West Africa: ~2 – 19% of modern West-African ancestry from an unidentified archaic source (Durvasula & Sankararaman 2020)

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