Homo cepranensis

Homo cepranensis Temporal range: Pleistocene, 0.5–0.35Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Holotype skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Hominidae
Genus:	Homo
Species:	H. cepranensis
Binomial name
†Homo cepranensis Mallegni et al., 2003

Homo cepranensis is a proposed name for a human species known from only one skull cap discovered in 1994.^[1] The fossil was discovered by archeologist Italo Biddittu and was nicknamed "Ceprano Man" after a nearby town in the province of Frosinone, 89 kilometers Southeast of Rome, Italy.^[2]

The fossil is estimated to be between 350,000 to 500,000 years old.^[3] As an adjacent site, Fontana Ranuccio, was dated to 487,000 +/- 6,000 years, Muttoni et al. suggest that Ceprano is most likely 450,000 years old. The cranial features on the bone seem to be intermediate between those found on Homo erectus and those of later species, such as Homo heidelbergensis, that dominated Europe long before Homo neanderthalensis. A 2011 study suggested that it was ancestral to Homo neanderthalensis.^[4] There is not yet enough material to make a complete analysis of the individual.

References